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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576400">revolving doors of beliefs</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Extrinsical/pseuds/Extrinsical'>Extrinsical</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon divergent from S8E07, F/F, Slow Burn, Weiss-centric</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:26:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,305</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576400</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Extrinsical/pseuds/Extrinsical</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A promise from Weiss Schnee is like an oath. This is something anyone who knows her would know.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>394</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. to find the way back home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><b>revolving doors of beliefs<br/>
</b>Part 1 of 2 | to find the way back home | 10,833 words<br/>
Post season 8 episode 7 — completely divergent from this point onwards. Spoilers abound.<br/>
<br/>
BGM: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beb_MUu8TqM"> Rubia </a> — Honkai Impact 3rd.<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p><em> 1.<br/>
<br/>
</em>“Weiss,” someone is calling her name. “Weiss. Wake up.”<br/>
<br/>
She's tempted to ignore it. To keep on resting.<br/>
<br/>
The first inkling she had that not all was well, was in the aftermath of the battle in Haven Academy.<br/>
<br/>
The battle exhausted her. The mental fatigue has worn her out. The understanding of how <em> close </em> she came to dying still shocks her, and ironically enough, it is the phantom pain she feels on her side that keeps her grounded.<br/>
<br/>
Then there's the part where Jaune had forced her Aura to churn in order to keep her alive. Adrenaline and the high from his aura's support had driven her during the battle, but when she'd finally gotten a moment to breathe, all of that hit back at her and dragged her into a level of burnout she’d never experienced before.<br/>
<br/>
It sunk her into a deep slumber when she was finally able to rest.<br/>
<br/>
And trying to wake up from that is a long, slow process.<br/>
<br/>
Still, she feels the arms curling around her, fingers threading into white hair and pulling her into a trembling hug.<br/>
<br/>
“Please wake up. Don’t leave me. Please. <em> Weiss</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
The crack in that hoarse voice is what cuts through her sleep-addled mind and makes her instinctively grasp at the curve of the dark sleeved elbow.<br/>
<br/>
It’s a moment before she’s marginally able to reorient herself. And another before she realizes that her partner is the one holding her, and that her head is now resting between the curve of Ruby’s shoulder and neck.<br/>
<br/>
Oh, she thinks. Her mind still feels muddled. <br/>
<br/>
“Ruby,” she murmurs, voice groggy. “I was just sleeping.”<br/>
<br/>
“You were so <em> still</em>. I thought - I dreamt - ” Ruby’s mouth snaps shut. Weiss can feel Ruby's hair tickling at her cheeks.<br/>
<br/>
Now it’s starting to make sense why Ruby woke her.<br/>
<br/>
She lets out a soft sigh and allows herself to lightly tap her temple against the side of Ruby’s jaw.<br/>
<br/>
“Did you have a bad dream?” she quietly asks. Her eyes do open then, greeting the darkness of the room, dimly illuminated by the shattered moon that shines through the window. <br/>
<br/>
In the dark, she can’t even begin to tell what is etched on her partner’s face.<br/>
<br/>
And Ruby isn’t responding, not that Weiss actually needed an answer. Her mind feels like it’s finally working again, though she doesn’t pull away despite the first stirrings of discomfort. Ruby needs this, she somehow knows.<br/>
<br/>
If this helps, who is she to deny her closest friend?<br/>
<br/>
“You’re silly,” Weiss says, still sleepy, closing her eyes again.<br/>
<br/>
The younger girl barks out a hiccupping laugh. “I know.”<br/>
<br/>
“Do you?” She can’t help but tease a little, a corner of her lip ticking up.<br/>
<br/>
The grip on her tightens even more, cocooning her further in that embrace. “Don’t be mean to me,” is the plaintive, hoarse whine. “It’s been sooo crazy the last two days, Weiss - "<br/>
<br/>
Oh, she knows. It’s been crazy for <em> months</em>.<br/>
<br/>
“ - And after all that chaos, I finally have you to myself now.”<br/>
<br/>
Her breath catches at that revelation and the possessiveness in that voice. “Dolt,” she somehow manages to say and scold.<br/>
<br/>
Ruby doesn’t seem to care, seemingly going off-tangent without realising and then on a stuttering, disconnected ramble. “You almost died.” Her voice cracks. “I didn’t - if I wasn’t - if you died, I - if <em> I lost you </em> - “<br/>
<br/>
“Shh.” She squeezes her elbow gently. “Am I not here now?”<br/>
<br/>
Her partner obeys, but the tremble remains. <br/>
<br/>
“Ruby,” Weiss sighs softly then, “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”<br/>
<br/>
The younger girl doesn’t answer, and the silence lasts long enough that she prods her again. “Okay?”<br/>
<br/>
There’s a noise of some sort that Ruby makes in her throat, and the hug tightens.<br/>
<br/>
“...Okay.”<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
<em> 2.<br/>
<br/>
</em>Being so close to death has a way of changing someone, even when it's not the first, and not one person among their ragtag group will deny how close she came to it.<br/>
<br/>
What it takes Weiss a while to realise though, is how it also changes the people around her.<br/>
<br/>
The most telling one is Jaune.<br/>
<br/>
He stares at her every now and then, she knows. He stares like he can’t believe her heart still beats, that she is still among them <span>—</span> that somehow, some way, miraculously, she still lives.<br/>
<br/>
And she thinks it’s time to address it. It doesn’t take long to, when an opportunity conveniently presents itself while in Argus.<br/>
<br/>
“Jaune.”<br/>
<br/>
He flinches, gaze snapping to her from where he had been staring at Pyrrha Nikos’s statue in the memorial park with shadowed eyes.<br/>
<br/>
“W-what’s up, Weiss?” He rubs a hand at the back of his head nervously and tries for a smile. “I wasn’t expecting to, uh, see you here. Haha... ha…”<br/>
<br/>
She can’t decide if she’s amused or exasperated at how unnerved he is. It may be a little bit of both. Come to think of it, Weiss doesn’t think they have actually ever held a proper conversation before. <br/>
<br/>
Before her, Jaune shifts restlessly.<br/>
<br/>
“Sit with me for a bit?” she nods at the steel bench by the side of the memorial park. “I’d like to talk to you for a moment, if you don't mind.”<br/>
<br/>
“O… okay.” They sit, and then an awkward silence reigns.<br/>
<br/>
The blond clears his throat, looking everywhere but at her. “What did you want to talk about?”<br/>
<br/>
She debates between being tactful or straightforward, and decides on, “I wanted to thank you for saving me.” Her gaze shifts to stare at the statue of her friend, blanketed by smatterings of snow. <br/>
<br/>
He stills.<br/>
<br/>
She waits, giving him time to collect himself.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re - “ he shifts then, rubbing his gloved hands against his thighs. “It’s nothing to thank me for. I’m... I’m just really glad you’re - safe.”<br/>
<br/>
She may need to be a little more direct. She doesn’t want to be unkind - that’s not the intention. But she doesn’t know how else to do this. She’s - she’s trying to connect, but that doesn’t mean she knows <em> how</em>.<br/>
<br/>
Her breath mists in the cold air. Above them, in the dark sky, the gentle, light snowfall has started again, landing on the statue, the trees, the ground, and on their shoulders.<br/>
<br/>
“Cinder used an imitation of Milo to fatally wound me,” she says quietly. “She was trying to hurt you through me.” The searing pain. A fake spear born of fire, fire, <em> fire</em>. “I don’t want you to blame yourself for that. There is nothing to forgive, you know. This is on her, not you.”<br/>
<br/>
He swallows. “That’s... Weiss, it’s - “<br/>
<br/>
“No,” she cuts him off. “Look at me,” she demands. It takes a moment, but he does do it, if shakily.<br/>
<br/>
She stares at blue eyes a few shades off from her own. “Don’t let her do this to you. You deserve better than that. Do not <em> ever </em> give that wretched woman this satisfaction, Jaune.”<br/>
<br/>
His hands curl into tight fists. She sees a fleck of snow touch his left cheek.<br/>
<br/>
“Jaune,” she says softly, quietly, so much more gentler than she originally planned to be. “I’m alive. You <em> saved me</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
At that, he looks simultaneously stricken and disbelieving, like he’s trying to believe her but he <em> can’t</em>, like someone just threw a hard punch into his gut and he can’t breathe, like he’s seeing <em> green eyes and red hair </em>through her image - <br/>
<br/>
Weiss takes in a deep breath, and says it again, firmer and stronger. “You saved me, Jaune Arc. You kept me alive - you kept my Aura going. If it wasn’t for you, I would definitely have died. So thank you. Thank <em> you</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
He seems to struggle with himself for a moment, his eyes trembling with a myriad of emotions before he bows his head, staring instead at the snow on the ground.<br/>
<br/>
Her heart aches for the broken boy before her.<br/>
<br/>
“No,” he says then, voice hoarse. There’s a mishmash of agony and guilt and raw relief in his cracked voice. “Thank you - for being alive.” <br/>
<br/>
A droplet trickles down and splatters on the snow.<br/>
<br/>
His next words shudder out of him. “Thank you for - for letting me save you, Weiss.” He presses his hands against his face. “Thank you for <em> letting me save you</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
She almost lifts a hand to squeeze his shoulder. Instead, she breathes in the cold air, watches flecks of snow drop to the grass, then turns her gaze back to the statue. <br/>
<br/>
She thinks of warm green eyes the color of spring leaves in the sun.<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
When Jaune regains his composure and finally leaves, she leans back against the bench and closes her eyes, suddenly exhausted. Maybe relieved.<br/>
<br/>
The soft wind is cold against her cheeks. <br/>
<br/>
Her mind is still abuzz - Pyrrha, Pyrrha. If she died like her, then - where would Ruby, Yang and Blake be? Would they be as broken as team JNPR? Would Ruby be just like Jaune?<br/>
<br/>
The thought of it makes something in her stomach twist.<br/>
<br/>
She can’t let that happen. She <em> can’t</em>.<br/>
<br/>
With a sigh, she opens her eyes, intending to just gaze at the statue again - only to have her breath stutter as she startles.<br/>
<br/>
A pair of amber eyes stare at her. It’s Blake. Her teammate stands just one step from her, fists clenched, ears flat against the skull, and eyes holding a turmoil of emotions that makes Weiss tense.<br/>
<br/>
“What - “ Her heart still skips doubletime from the scare. “Blake! Don’t surprise me like that!”<br/>
<br/>
But Blake remains quiet and still, gaze stormy.<br/>
<br/>
Something’s wrong. She feels something sinks in her stomach. “Blake?”<br/>
<br/>
It’s a very, very long minute before the other speaks.<br/>
<br/>
“I didn’t know you were that close to dying.” A quiet, hollow sound.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh.” Her throat goes dry. “Were you - “ she cuts herself off. And then she’s frowning in disapproval. “Eavesdropping is a bad habit, Blake.” she scolds.<br/>
<br/>
Blake’s fists go white. <br/>
<br/>
“I didn’t <em> know </em> - “ the Faunus is stiff. “Weiss. I didn’t - you all made it sound like it was <em> just </em> a wound - <em> why </em> - “ <br/>
<br/>
Probably because no one wants to think about it. The memory, she knows, is too raw, too new. She knows Yang’s touch on her lingers a moment too long nowadays, as if trying to make sure she's real. She knows Ruby still has nightmares some nights - maybe every night - and that when they become too much her leader curls in to sleep by her side without a word. <br/>
<br/>
It’s only been a few weeks since Haven.<br/>
<br/>
And Weiss has no desire to bring it up again. They'd literally gotten thrown off  train tracks and had to deal with <em> other </em> things, one that had almost killed all of them and another that had battered their morale into nearly fine dust. And then there's also <em> that </em> problem Blake and Yang were having.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss has <em> no </em>reason to give another thing to weigh their minds.<br/>
<br/>
“It <em> was </em> just a wound.” She tries to inject sternness into her voice. “And don’t think I’m forgetting that you just snuck up on me.”<br/>
<br/>
(She will never tell them that she wasn’t just impaled - it'd only be another worry burdening them, that javelin had been made of <em> fire</em>.) <br/>
<br/>
“Weiss.” Blake remains where she stands. It's clear she's not letting this go.<br/>
<br/>
Well then. She breathes in the cold air. She'd just had one short but <em> difficult </em> conversation with Jaune. She doesn’t know if she has the energy for another.<br/>
<br/>
It isn’t exactly hard to be curt with Jaune, because - even though they are school mates, comrades, <em> friends </em> - she still hasn’t quite forgiven him for how he acted towards her when they were at Beacon. The way he kept trying to court her. The way he kept chasing after her even when she said <em> no</em>.<br/>
<br/>
But Blake is a completely different matter. <br/>
<br/>
She reaches up to squeeze a wrist gently. Hesitantly. “I’m alright now, you know.”<br/>
<br/>
(She will never tell them that her side still throbs with the phantom pain of being speared and burnt.)<br/>
<br/>
Blake grips her hand back tightly. Weiss is almost convinced her friend is about to cling to her like a koala bear, as if that will hide her away from any threat.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re...” she sighs. She doesn’t know what to say to get rid of those shadows in amber eyes. She wishes she did, that it could be that easy. She tuts instead. “This isn’t like you.” <br/>
<br/>
Or is it? <br/>
<br/>
Blake, she knows, has changed. They all have. Yang doesn’t laugh as much, anymore, and her grins are more often than not tinted with something dark, heavy, sharp. Ruby is quieter, not so much the loud, hyperactive child she once knew - even if she does fall back into those habits - and there is a quality around her that is harder now. <em> Angrier</em>. Like the steel of a plowshare reforged into a sword.<br/>
<br/>
Whereas Blake… Blake seems softer. But also contradictorily stronger. As if she’s finally found her will to fight. As if she’s found something she’s so completely sure is worth sacrificing everything for.<br/>
<br/>
And nowadays, Weiss finds that she has to actually <em> try </em> to summon the temper she’s intimately familiar with, where in the past it just <em> came</em>. Nowadays, she finds herself just wanting to be there for all of them in whatever way she can. <br/>
<br/>
Sometimes it feels as if Yang and Ruby had traded places with her and Blake, completely reversing all their roles. Sometimes it feels like all four of them have been stuffed into a blender and mashed up together, only for bits and pieces to go to each of them at random.<br/>
<br/>
She doesn't know how to think about it, but the idea of being able to return the softness and strength Yang and Ruby have shown her and Blake when they're unable to summon their own strength and kindness is… oddly agreeable to her. <br/>
<br/>
She's jolted from her thoughts by Blake pulling Weiss up and into her arms.<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Oof</em>.” She huffs at the tight grip the Faunus has on her.<br/>
<br/>
The black-haired girl noses her way into the red scarf like she’s bound to it. “I’m never leaving you all again.” Her muffled, soft voice barely reaches Weiss's ears. “Never again. I <em> swear</em>.” Her friend trembles.<br/>
<br/>
It’s a long moment before Weiss lifts a hand to curl around Blake’s back. <br/>
<br/>
“I know,” she says softly. “I believe you.”<br/>
<br/>
The snow continues to fall.<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
<em>3.<br/>
<br/>
</em>They arrive at Atlas.<br/>
<br/>
For a short while, things feel normal.<br/>
<br/>
There’s training, there’s huntress’s work, there is her team, and there is her sister.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss could almost be content if not for the looming threat of Salem and the discomforting wariness she feels regarding James Ironwood. Or the thought of her other estranged family members - her father, her mother, and Whitley.<br/>
<br/>
The phantom pain by her side comes and goes erratically, and she’s more or less resigned to the fact that it may be like that forever.<br/>
<br/>
That doesn’t mean the ghostly ache doesn’t catch her off guard sometimes, though.<br/>
<br/>
Like now, where she jerks a fraction too awkwardly, flinching as she sidesteps a cuff from Yang’s burning fist while they are sparring because the area where she was once impaled is <em> searing</em>.<br/>
<br/>
Lilac eyes are already narrowing at her, noting the oddity in her movements. The mechanical and unmechanical fists uncurl and drop down. “Are you hurt?”<br/>
<br/>
“No.” She forces herself to remain impassive, gaze moving to the other side of the arena where Ruby’s scythe slashes through Blake's fading black shadow.<br/>
<br/>
They haven’t noticed. She almost lets out a breath. Good.<br/>
<br/>
And just as suddenly as it came, the pain is already gone.<br/>
<br/>
“Weiss.” <br/>
<br/>
Her eyes snap back up to Yang’s frowning face. <br/>
<br/>
They stare at each other for a moment longer before Weiss finally grumbles. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”<br/>
<br/>
“You get to choose one of the two tablets.” Yang smirks down at her. “The Yang-yellow tablet, or the RWBY-rainbow tablet.”<br/>
<br/>
That’s a <em> terrible </em> pun. And aside from Yang’s color, none of the rest even matches. She resists the urge to pinch at the bridge of her nose. “Matrix, Yang? <em> Really</em>?”<br/>
<br/>
Yang waggles her eyebrows. “You enjoyed it when we had movie night. We watched all three movies in <em> one go</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
A scowl. “I tolerated it. <em> Tolerated</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
The blonde snorts disbelievingly. “If you say so. Now choose your tablet. You know I’m not going to let this go.”<br/>
<br/>
Damn it.<br/>
<br/>
“Weiss.” Yang's serious; she's not bothering with the ridiculous nickname.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss stifles down a resigned groan, because she knows there's no choice. There’s no evading Yang now that her teammate is onto her. “Fine. I’ll… I’ll pick you.” She refuses to use the tablet pun.<br/>
<br/>
“Good choice.” Yang nods, though a hint of a frown lingers on her face. “Now talk.”<br/>
<br/>
“I don’t…” Blue eyes cut back to a sparring Blake and Ruby. A deep breath. “Can we do this later?”<br/>
<br/>
Yang is staring at her again, and this time, the concern is clear in that gaze. Any humor has all but faded from her expression.<br/>
<br/>
“Tonight,” Weiss goes on to say quietly. “Alright?”<br/>
<br/>
Yang scans her like she’s looking for injuries.<br/>
<br/>
Then, a slow nod. “Tonight.”<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
Odd as it may sound, the thing that people don't often see is that Weiss and Yang are a pair that work really well together - so well, in fact, that they don’t necessarily have to even communicate beforehand, and this is only overshadowed by the fact that Ruby is to Weiss what Blake is to Yang.<br/>
<br/>
They are innate opposites; from personalities to fighting styles to how they process things internally. And yet, despite all the differences between her and Yang, the one Weiss has most in common with is <em> also </em> Yang.<br/>
<br/>
Which is why understanding Yang takes literally no effort at all. <br/>
<br/>
It’s sometimes so easy to forget that the reverse is also true, though.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss walks up to Yang silently - the blonde's lying down on the edge of the rooftop of Atlas Academy. Her teammate’s heels are tapping noiselessly against the wall from where they are swinging loosely past the roof, and she stares at the dark sky and the glimmering stars with hands behind the head, for all appearance seemingly lost in thought.<br/>
<br/>
Light blue looks down to meet lilac.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss wrinkles her nose. “The floor is dirty.” <br/>
<br/>
Yang squints back at her. “Compared to all the weird junk we have been rolling on the last couple weeks while in battles, Weiss, this is nothing.”<br/>
<br/>
Weiss sighs. And then she sits too, gloved hands palming at the cold floor. <br/>
<br/>
A short silence reigns; Yang looking up at the sky, Weiss at the lit buildings and skyscrapers in the distance.<br/>
<br/>
“Are you going to tell me why you flinched like that while we were sparring?” Yang asks then.<br/>
<br/>
She rolls her eyes. “You say that like I should willingly take on your fist head on. A burning one, if you need to be reminded.”<br/>
<br/>
“Hmm,” Yang muses and then snorts. “One day maybe. And nice try, but I know that’s not it.” The blonde is clearly not going to let her deflect. <br/>
<br/>
Weiss huffs. “I’m not injured. In any way. Or at all. There’s <em> really </em> nothing to worry about.”<br/>
<br/>
Yang's gaze slants sideways to observe her, assessing. Her response reflects her stance. “I’ll be the judge of that.” <br/>
<br/>
A stifled groan. There’s really no avoiding this, not unless she lies outright, but that’s not… she can’t do that. “...It’s just phantom pain.”<br/>
<br/>
Yang’s brow furrows in surprise, clearly not expecting that response at all. “What?”<br/>
<br/>
She chews at her bottom lip, hesitant.<br/>
<br/>
“Weiss.” Yang sits up, turning to look at her properly. “What do you mean, phantom pain?”<br/>
<br/>
She doesn’t look back at her, opting to stare at the city glimmering in the darkness, and begins to tick off points on her fingers. “Phantom pain - often described as shooting, stabbing, cramping, pins and needles, crushing, throbbing or burning - “<br/>
<br/>
“I did not ask for a dictionary definition of phantom pain.” Yang’s words are as dry as sand. “I know perfectly well what it is. Lost limb here, remember?”<br/>
<br/>
She winces at the nonchalant reminder. “I’m sorry.”<br/>
<br/>
“Uh huh.” Luckily, Yang doesn’t sound offended. Just bemused. And amused. “If you’re sorry then pay up by telling me what’s going on.”<br/>
<br/>
She’s caught. Her shoulders sag. “Swear to me that no one else will know.” A pause. “Not even Ruby.”<br/>
<br/>
Yang’s stare is <em> piercing</em>, enough that she finds herself adding - “It’s not something that will affect anyone - including me - detrimentally. I promise.”<br/>
<br/>
The blonde’s gaze remains narrow.<br/>
<br/>
It’s a long moment before Yang answers. “Fine.” A pause. “Only because you promised. But if I find that something’s changed, you know what I’ll do.”<br/>
<br/>
She huffs, resigned. “I wouldn’t be able to stop you anyway.”<br/>
<br/>
“Enough cloak and dagger,” is the retort. Yang is frowning. “Now tell me.”<br/>
<br/>
Silence.<br/>
<br/>
“...The battle at Haven Academy.” Weiss sighs. Even without seeing it, she can feel Yang stiffening. “Do you remember?”<br/>
<br/>
“I don’t think I could forget.” In Yang’s soft voice is something heavy and loaded, a dark shadow crossing her face. Her gaze drops to the side and towards the city. “For more than one reason.”<br/>
<br/>
Weiss isn’t surprised. <br/>
<br/>
And then the blonde connects the dots without Weiss having to say anything else.<br/>
<br/>
Her eyes snap back to Weiss’s, and then to the stomach covered by clothing. “When you were impaled. You were  - “ Yang stops. Then <em> growls</em>. “You’ve been getting phantom pains from that? <em> Since then? </em>”<br/>
<br/>
The index finger on Weiss’s left hand taps restlessly on the cold floor. “It only happens now and then.” She’s not about to tell her it happened almost daily at the start. <br/>
<br/>
“<em>Weiss</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’m serious.” More restless taps. “It’s not affecting my performance, or even me at all. It just... <em> happens</em>. Randomly. For very brief periods. And it’s usually pretty mild.”<br/>
<br/>
Yang doesn’t buy it. “That opening you gave during sparring would’ve given me a chance to clean your clock.”<br/>
<br/>
“An unfortunate occurrence of phantom pain at the wrong moment.”<br/>
<br/>
“There’s something else.” Yang’s looking at her like a puzzle to be solved. “There is, isn’t there?”<br/>
<br/>
Her lips presses together. She can’t lie. “Cinder…” she trails off for a moment. “Her spear was made with fire.”<br/>
<br/>
Absolute silence.<br/>
<br/>
The silence goes on for so long that Weiss finally turns to look at Yang - only to startle at what she sees.<br/>
<br/>
Yang’s eyes are<em> red</em>. “It was burning you,” are the soft, soft words. “Your skin, your flesh, <em> through you</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
Her throat goes dry. “I… yes.” She looks away again, unable to bear that piercing gaze. The memory of the fire licking at her <em> inside</em>, searing her, makes her tense. “It did burn me.”<br/>
<br/>
“And when we were sparring - “ Yang’s mouth closes, already putting the pieces together. The brawler’s semblance is <em> heat and fire</em>.<br/>
<br/>
The blonde’s jaw clenches before she snarls, “I’m going to kill that bitch. The moment I get my hands on her, <em>she is dead!</em>” <br/>
<br/>
Yang’s voice rises higher and higher, and something in Weiss’s stomach twists, and an uncomfortable déjà vu makes frost crawl up her veins. It’s the same feeling she gets when she’s in her father’s presence. Combined with the gold flecked heat radiating from Yang now, she can’t help it - she flinches.<br/>
<br/>
And just like that, the red disappears from her eyes. The heat fades.<br/>
<br/>
Before Weiss can even think about getting up to step away, Yang is faster, snaking a hand around her waist to trap her in a tight hug, holding her close.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m sorry,” Yang says, suddenly soft and guilty, as if the anger is never there. Weiss remains tense in that warm embrace. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. I’m sorry.”<br/>
<br/>
She breathes in shallowly.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss has been trying so hard to keep it all at bay - being in Atlas, being so close to that cold manor, and so close to where her father’s influence is vast - and for the most part, she’s been successful. Her team is protective, and Ruby is a constant support, enough that she feels safe. <br/>
<br/>
But even then.<br/>
<br/>
Even then.<br/>
<br/>
She pushes herself away, and her teammate lets her go.<br/>
<br/>
And the way Yang is looking at her now <span>—</span><br/>
<br/>
“There’s nothing you can do,” Weiss says, almost like an order. Maybe a plea for her to understand. “There’s nothing I want <em> any </em> of you to do.”<br/>
<br/>
“I know,” Yang says quietly, a shade of red flickering back to life before they turn back to lilac.  “But that doesn’t mean I won’t rip your father’s head off given the chance.”<br/>
<br/>
She lets out a slow, trembling exhale. <br/>
<br/>
“You really aren’t angry at all, are you?” Yang questions, but the knowing, crumpled way the blonde is looking at Weiss makes her think it’s a rhetorical question. “At him. At your family. I don’t even think you know <em> how </em> to be angry.” <br/>
<br/>
And is that not the irony, when anger is something that’s second nature for her?<br/>
<br/>
Those words pierce her more than she cares to admit. “Yang - “<br/>
<br/>
“This,” Yang interrupts in a low voice, “is why we have to be angry for you. And we <em> are </em> angry, if that’s not clear.”<br/>
<br/>
There’s a lump stuck deep in her throat. <br/>
<br/>
Yang  points a finger at her stomach. <br/>
<br/>
“Let’s not forget about that too. Cause I haven’t.” Her words are quiet, steady. “If you can’t care more for yourself, then I will. <em> We </em> will. And if you ever think otherwise, I will punch you so hard it gets drilled into you.”<br/>
<br/>
She breathes in the cold air of Atlas. <br/>
<br/>
And that’s how something fundamental in her shifts again. This is the defining moment that brings about another change in her, like a belief that finally manages to solidify into something steady and unbreakable.<br/>
<br/>
The first change started with Blake, when secrets were brought to light, sending whiplashes across axioms she once held to like a gospel. Then Ruby, who made her feel more like herself than just a Schnee. And now… <br/>
<br/>
“As if I could ever think otherwise,” Weiss manages to say, somehow injecting humor into her words. Her eyes feel warm, and they are misting over. “You’re far too obnoxious for me to ignore.”<br/>
<br/>
The blonde does grin then, bright and warm like the sun. “You mean, I’m too <em> hot </em> for you to ignore.”<br/>
<br/>
For the first time ever, because Weiss can’t find the words to articulate how profound her frustration is at the pun, she <em> shoves </em>at the other’s shoulder in rebuke.<br/>
<br/>
Yang just laughs, loud and happy and radiant.<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
<em>4.<br/>
<br/>
</em><em> And then later</em>.<br/>
<br/>
“Have you kissed Blake yet?” is her blunt hammer of question when she’s finally fed up with the disgusting looks her two teammates have been giving each other.<br/>
<br/>
Yang jolts, then tries for a grin. She fails spectacularly. “Uh, w-what do you mean?”<br/>
<br/>
The last of the ex-heiress’s patience crumbles into fine dust. These two have been oddly hesitant around each other for a while now, and she knows it has to do with everything that happened since the fall of Beacon, but enough is <em> enough</em>.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss can’t help the despairing groan that tumbles out. “You haven’t. <em> Yang</em>. What are you waiting for? The world to end?”<br/>
<br/>
“Um - ”<br/>
<br/>
“I swear to god, Yang, you better get it together or <em> I’m locking you both into a closet</em>!”<br/>
<br/>
“Pot says hi to kettle!” Yang shoots back indignantly. “Don’t think I can’t see what’s going on with you and Ruby, ice queen!”<br/>
<br/>
She <em> sputters </em>. Did Yang just<span>—</span> “Are you butchering idioms now?!”<br/>
<br/>
(Her two idiotic teammates do get their act together, when they go to the dance club with team FNKI on the night of the election.)<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
<em>5.<br/>
<br/>
</em>Her father is going to be thrown into jail. Possibly worse.<br/>
<br/>
And Weiss finds that she’s just tired and hollow now; from her mother’s words haunting her, to the resignation aching deep in her chest - because her father really is unredeemable, isn’t he? - and then to thinking of Whitley and the scornful, betrayed look he may soon give her.<br/>
<br/>
One day, her brother will understand why.<br/>
<br/>
Or at least she hopes he will.<br/>
<br/>
Her grip tightens on the scroll that holds the evidence as she moves - only to pause when she comes across a door ajar… to Winter’s old room. <br/>
<br/>
Weiss hesitates. While she wants to go straight to the council meeting, this is simply too odd to ignore.<br/>
<br/>
Decision made, she peers into the room.<br/>
<br/>
Her sister<em> is </em> there, standing in the middle of the room with her arms behind her back, scanning the room for things that may be out of place.<br/>
<br/>
“It’s all still here,” the older woman comments, an odd, unreadable inflection in her words. “I thought he would have gotten rid of my things by now.”<br/>
<br/>
Of course Winter has already sensed her presence.<br/>
<br/>
There are faint touches of the older woman everywhere in the room, from old collections of books on the shelves to the notebook and pen placed on the right side of the table.<br/>
<br/>
It’s a long moment before she answers. “Mother requested it.” <em> In one of her more lucid moments. </em> “And father doesn’t…” <em> Care </em> . “He won’t come here.”<br/>
<br/>
“Ah.” Another brief silence. “I see.”<br/>
<br/>
There is something bothering her older sister. <br/>
<br/>
“...Is the meeting not going well?” she asks quietly. The scroll with irrefutable evidence feels cold in her hand. <br/>
<br/>
Her sister does sigh. “Not quite.” A small, bitter laugh. “I always get angry when I see our father.”<br/>
<br/>
She knows. “He got on your nerves again?” The memories of those shouting matches Winter had with father from her younger days are still fresh in her mind that they chill her.<br/>
<br/>
“When does he not?”<br/>
<br/>
She doesn’t answer.<br/>
<br/>
Winter breathes in deeply, hands loosening and dropping from where they are clasped behind the back. “I should go back to the meeting. I only came by out of… nostalgia.”<br/>
<br/>
And Weiss finds that she can’t quite help herself. “You truly believe in the general, don’t you?”<br/>
<br/>
Her sister stills. “Without question.”<br/>
<br/>
“So unquestioningly that you're willing to kill Fria to obtain the winter maiden’s powers.”<br/>
<br/>
Their gazes meet; Winter’s one inscrutable, and Weiss a little too knowing and weary.<br/>
<br/>
Something is tearing at its seams. <br/>
<br/>
“Yes.”<br/>
<br/>
It’s Weiss who looks away first, at one of Winter’s old bookshelves, heart aching. <br/>
<br/>
“The general is a good man,” Winter’s tone is softer than usual. “A man who has had to make far too many hard choices. If you are with me, and if you work with him, you will see the things I see, too.”<br/>
<br/>
Will she? Truly? Weiss isn’t sure she can believe that. <br/>
<br/>
“And the offer is still open,” Winter says quietly. “Join me.”<br/>
<br/>
She doesn’t want to. <br/>
<br/>
It’s another moment before the older woman speaks again. “I should return to the meeting. Think of it, Weiss, and we will talk again later.”<br/>
<br/>
Her sister walks past her, out of the room, and<span>—</span><br/>
<br/>
Weiss exhales then. How her heart aches. <br/>
<br/>
“I can’t join you.”<br/>
<br/>
The older woman goes still three steps from her. Weiss though, Weiss just stares - at her sister’s back, and at how those shoulders are straight and squared with military precision.<br/>
<br/>
“If I go with you,” Weiss says, voice so soft the other can barely hear, “I’ll do whatever it takes to stop you from becoming the winter maiden.” <br/>
<br/>
The silence ticks by. Tick, tick, tick.<br/>
<br/>
“You want to protect me,” Winter conclude, tone still calm, still quiet. <br/>
<br/>
“You’re my sister.” It’s the only explanation that Weiss needs to give.<br/>
<br/>
Then.<br/>
<br/>
Winter appears to look down on the floor for a brief moment, shoulders loosening a fraction. <br/>
<br/>
“You… truly have matured into a wonderful young woman, Weiss.” There’s something like pride and affection and love in her sister’s too-soft voice, but it only makes sadness twist further in Weiss’s stomach. “You were the best of us all in this parody of a family then, and you still are now.”<br/>
<br/>
And then Winter straightens, back firm and shoulders squared. She does not look back at Weiss.<br/>
<br/>
“I won’t offer again,” the older woman continues, tone inscrutable again. “I see now that military life will not suit you. That of a huntress will suit you far better.”<br/>
<br/>
And then Winter is walking away.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss just stands there, mute, staring at her sister until she disappears around the corner. <br/>
<br/>
Something heavy is settling on her shoulders like a chilly blanket of resignation, and she finds herself gripping at her forearm tightly, imprinting red-fingered marks that will be hidden by long sleeves.<br/>
<br/>
It’s a long moment before she takes in a deep breath, focusing her thoughts on the evidence she needs to present in the meeting. Her sister… that’s something that she has to work through later when there’s more time.<br/>
<br/>
But for now, the scroll. And her father.<br/>
<br/>
She turns then, following Winter’s footsteps down the hallway.<br/>
<br/>
(And then later, in the broken room of the dead, former winter maiden, the finality in the resolute stare they give each other is one that will always break Weiss’s heart. They will meet again, but their paths have already torn apart at its seams, no longer destined to intersect.)<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
<em><br/>
6.<br/>
<br/>
</em>Ruby is watching her with a quiet intensity from where she’s lounging on the bed - <em> Weiss’s bed </em> - next to a sleeping and injured Nora. <br/>
<br/>
Weiss chews at her bottom lip, sighs, and then flicks her scroll shut to look back at gunmetal eyes from where she’s sitting by the table. “You should be sleeping, Ruby.” She doesn’t ask why her leader is staring.<br/>
<br/>
“I can’t sleep,” are the quiet words. <br/>
<br/>
“And why not?”<br/>
<br/>
Silence.<br/>
<br/>
There’s <em> that </em> look in Ruby’s eyes again. The one that makes her ache deep for her partner. This girl is only seventeen years old, and yet the weight of the world is on her shoulders.<br/>
<br/>
Ruby may think she’s been hiding it well, but Weiss is nothing but the best partner the other could ever have. <br/>
<br/>
“Come here for a bit?” is her leader’s plaintive request, cutting her out of her thoughts. <br/>
<br/>
A white brow arches. “Why?”<br/>
<br/>
“I wanna be close to you,” A pause. “And you don’t want me to get off the bed because you want me to sleep.”<br/>
<br/>
Well, what could she say to that? Weiss huffs, cheeks tinting.<br/>
<br/>
She does go to her after a moment of hesitation, moving to sit by her partner’s side, half-concerned, half-cautious. Maybe a little curious. <br/>
<br/>
Despite herself, Weiss does glance over at Nora - and can’t help the tiny relief she feels at seeing her in deep slumber still. That, at the very least, is a form of privacy. Plus Blake had decided to take this chance to look around the manor. <br/>
<br/>
She looks back down to see that Ruby has fisted in on her clothing.<br/>
<br/>
Still, Ruby remains silent, and those gunmetal eyes aren’t looking at her exactly. Instead they have dropped down to stare at Weiss’s clothes instead. <br/>
<br/>
Ah. <br/>
<br/>
There’s a pause as she considers what to say. And when she does, her words are careful. Open-ended. “What’s wrong?”<br/>
<br/>
Ruby does not answer, for all appearance seemingly lost in thought as she stares unseeingly at blue cloth.<br/>
<br/>
It’s another moment before Weiss reaches out to cuff at the underside of Ruby’s chin in a gentle rebuke before lifting it up gently with a finger. Silver meets blue. <br/>
<br/>
“Talk to me,” Weiss says simply. <br/>
<br/>
Ruby swallows. Like this, lying down, with a hesitant grip on Weiss’s clothes, her leader looks young and far too vulnerable.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re not…” Ruby falters. Her gaze drops again, this time to the white haired girl’s stomach. “You aren't going to go anywhere, right?”<br/>
<br/>
Weiss’s expression is carefully neutral. “Where would I go?”<br/>
<br/>
“I dunno.” A sullen response. Gunmetal eyes slants away from her stare. <br/>
<br/>
Despite herself, Weiss can feel her lips twitch. “Is that so?”<br/>
<br/>
The faintest of a sulky pout is forming on Ruby’s face now.  That expression had been exasperatingly adorable when her partner was fifteen, and it’s something that used to appear when Weiss knowingly foiled whatever mischief the other was up to. <br/>
<br/>
And at seventeen - almost eighteen! -  she still uses that same expression so well; so well that Weiss can’t help but sigh wryly.<br/>
<br/>
“Well then,” Weiss says, thumbing lightly at her partner’s cheek to make sure Ruby’s far-too-active mind doesn’t trail away from her. “How about you tell me where you're planning to go, Ruby Rose?”<br/>
<br/>
It’s Ruby’s turn to blink at her, eyes flickering with confusion.<br/>
<br/>
She cocks an eyebrow, expectant. “Hmm?”<br/>
<br/>
Ruby chews at her bottom lip, seemingly trying to think of a proper response but not quite able to come up with one on the spot. “I’m planning to… um… go sleep?” <br/>
<br/>
At Weiss’s dry stare - because what was her partner complaining about just a few minutes ago? -  Ruby scrambles to provide another response. “I’m planning to, uh, defeat Salem?”<br/>
<br/>
“But we don’t even know where she is,” Weiss muses. There’s also the issue that she can’t be killed, but Weiss isn’t about to point that out. One problem at a time, and the manageable ones first.<br/>
<br/>
Her leader’s brows crinkles, half-humoring, half-determined. “We will find her.” <br/>
<br/>
A corner of her lip ticks up. “We?”<br/>
<br/>
And all of a sudden Ruby looks hesitant again. And far too vulnerable. “Um. You’re… you’re coming with me, right? But you don’t have to! I mean - it’s definitely safer, and if you agree with Yang that - “<br/>
<br/>
Weiss presses her thumb over Ruby’s lips, silencing her. “If you finish that sentence,” she says softly, “I’m going to be angry.”<br/>
<br/>
The dark expression that crosses her leader’s face then - something so helpless and stricken and hinting on desperation - it makes something deep within her twist with sadness. Nowadays, Weiss can’t help but think, she’s leaned heavily toward fatigue and sorrow, rather than fury.<br/>
<br/>
Especially for the person before her. The weight of the world, she thinks. That’s far too much for a seventeen year old girl to take on alone.<br/>
<br/>
“You realize,” Weiss murmurs quietly then, lifting her thumb away, but still angling that chin up to face her, “that you’ve already answered your own question?”<br/>
<br/>
Ruby’s face scrunches in confusion. “What do you mean?”<br/>
<br/>
“You asked if I wasn’t going to go anywhere.”<br/>
<br/>
Ruby blinks. “Are you?”<br/>
<br/>
“Slow today, aren’t you?” <br/>
<br/>
“What do you mean?” is the sullen response.<br/>
<br/>
“I am going somewhere,” Weiss says. “Without a doubt, I definitely will.” Okay, so maybe she’s feeling a little bit vindictive. <br/>
<br/>
“...Oh.” Ruby shrinks a little. “Where…?”<br/>
<br/>
Weiss is annoyed enough to let her partner sweat it out for a minute longer before sighing. <br/>
<br/>
“Where else, you idiot?” A crooked smile forms despite herself. “With you. To wherever you’re going.” There is no doubt as to what Weiss Schnee is going to do. No doubt at all.<br/>
<br/>
Glimmering eyes stares up at her.<br/>
<br/>
Ruby’s gaze is intense now, and piercing, and filled with far too many things that Weiss can hardly discern.<br/>
<br/>
The grip her partner has on her clothes tightens, and the gleam of something hinting at hunger in gunmetal eyes is making her breath catch. It’s that look again. The one that she catches sometimes but never knows what to do about, one that started since the night at Haven Academy.<br/>
<br/>
It isn’t <span>—</span> Weiss exhales, and unable to help herself, she slides her hand over Ruby’s face, over the eyes, covering them completely. She’s not about to tell her partner to stop that, but if Ruby kept staring at her like that <span>—</span><br/>
<br/>
“Weiss?” Ruby sounds innocently confused. She can feel her partner blinking under her palm.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss chews at the bottom of her lip, hesitating. “Close your eyes, you dolt.”<br/>
<br/>
“Why?”<br/>
<br/>
“Because you should be sleeping.”<br/>
<br/>
Despite that Weiss can’t even see those gunmetal eyes right now, she can tell - her partner is getting sullen again. “I can’t sleep.”<br/>
<br/>
“Close your eyes anyway,” she orders.<br/>
<br/>
Ruby does so obediently, relaxing under Weiss’s touch.<br/>
<br/>
“Weiss?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yes?”<br/>
<br/>
“You totally made me kiss your thumb, huh?”<br/>
<br/>
The ex-heiress stifles a groan, cheeks warming. “Shut up. That’s not what I was trying to do.”<br/>
<br/>
“Can I kiss you though?”<br/>
<br/>
She freezes.<br/>
<br/>
Ruby though, Ruby takes this opportunity to curl fingers around the hand covering her eyes, lifting it away.<br/>
<br/>
Gunmetal looks up at blue again.<br/>
<br/>
This time, the possessiveness and want is so clear in those eyes. Ruby wants her. Weiss has seen hints of it for a while now, and she is no stranger to having people look at her like that. Yet, when it comes to her partner <span>—</span><br/>
<br/>
Ruby rises, coming closer. Still holding Weiss’s hand captive. <br/>
<br/>
There’s something about the way Ruby’s looking at her now that makes her feel far too vulnerable. <br/>
<br/>
Then.<br/>
<br/>
“Can I?” Ruby asks again, longing and quiet, hand lifting to thumb lightly at her jawline; her cheek, pausing just before the thin scar crossing down one blue eye. <br/>
<br/>
It’s so easy to just let it happen. So, so easy. <br/>
<br/>
Almost all of her is already willing, and she is so aware of Ruby’s clumsy but growing attraction to her. And they have danced around this for a long time. They… they could be really great together. They could. She can almost see a future for them, when this wretched war with Salem is over.<br/>
<br/>
And Weiss knows that the affection she feels, the loyalty that she has, the sword she wields <span>—</span> they are all so firmly set in stone for this girl. She has already chosen her over <em> Winter</em>. She has chosen her over so many other things.<br/>
<br/>
And yet… <br/>
<br/>
Oh, Ruby. <br/>
<br/>
She had hoped to wait until her partner was ready to… unburden herself. She'd also been preparing to force the confrontation, one sure to be terrible and wretched, later, if it came to that. Certainly not now, with an injured Nora so close by, and when they are taking refuge in the <em> manor</em>. But the choice has now been taken out of her hands.<br/>
<br/>
Ruby has taken the choice out of both their hands, now, because of this.<br/>
<br/>
This… she can’t.<br/>
<br/>
“Truly?” she asks quietly. “Do you really want this?”<br/>
<br/>
Ruby blinks, clearly not expecting that question. Her head half-tilts in confusion. “What do you mean?”<br/>
<br/>
Weiss does smile at that, but it’s not a happy one. “Are you sure this isn’t you trying to find a distraction after the disagreement you had with Yang?”<br/>
<br/>
Her partner jerks. <br/>
<br/>
Something like sadness knots itself on her shoulders and bows them. “This isn’t you trying to not think about your mother? About when I almost died like Pyrrha? About everything that you think was your fault and your responsibility to bear?”<br/>
<br/>
Ruby stares at her, soundless and stunned.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss isn’t done. “This isn’t a moment of weakness from you trying to carry all the burdens by yourself?”<br/>
<br/>
The expression on Ruby’s face goes ashen. “Why - “ her leader shrinks back a little, trembling hands dropping to curl against the bedsheet, and her heart aches to see that. “That’s not true.“<br/>
<br/>
She can see silver eyes misting over before her bangs cover any expression Ruby could show.<br/>
<br/>
Her heart aches and <em> aches</em>.<br/>
<br/>
“You are a terrible liar.” The words that leave her are as quiet as a ghost. Weiss lets out a slow exhale then, looking away from her partner and to a side. “I can’t tell what’s more insulting, that you think I wouldn’t realize, or that you think you really could’ve hid it from me, your <em> partner</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
Even without seeing it she can feel Ruby flinching. “I’m not - “<br/>
<br/>
“Come to think of it,” she murmurs. “We haven’t really talked in a while, have we?”<br/>
<br/>
Another flinch. “We have!”<br/>
<br/>
“No,” her words are soft. “We haven’t, not really.”<br/>
<br/>
The younger girl can’t seem to find a response for that. <br/>
<br/>
“You are not ready to talk,” Weiss says it like a factual statement. “And that’s okay. We don’t have to talk. You don’t even have to talk to <em> me</em>, if there’s someone else you can share with. Like Yang. Or Blake. Or even Jaune - I <em> know </em>you two commiserate over being leaders sometimes. Though perhaps it's more of him doing that and you trying to cheer him up despite that you feel so much more worse than he does.”<br/>
<br/>
Ruby’s trembling now, as if everything she says is the unforgiving dagger of absolute truth,  enough that she turns back to watch those thin shoulders shake. <br/>
<br/>
“All I want,” she somehow manages a level of calmness in her voice that she doesn’t feel, “is for you to remember this.”<br/>
<br/>
Weiss lifts a hand to brush through messy locks, tucking some of them behind the ear. <br/>
<br/>
In the dim light of the room, vulnerable eyes stare back at her mutely. Her partner looks so raw, so tired, and so desperate, that it’s really all Weiss can do to steel herself.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re my partner, Ruby Rose.” A deep breath. “Even before you’re a leader, our leader, you’re my best friend. You’re more than just a best friend to me. And I… care. Deeply. So remember this, Ruby. I want you to be happy. I want you to be at peace. And I want you to be able to do whatever you need to achieve them. If you can’t, I won’t be happy either. I promise you that.”<br/>
<br/>
A promise from Weiss Schnee is like an oath. This is something anyone who knows her would know, most of all Ruby.<br/>
<br/>
Tears are rolling down her partner’s cheeks now. <br/>
<br/>
Despite herself, she smiles. It may be a little sad. A little hurt. A little resigned. “Crybaby,” she whispers teasingly, thumbing at a tear track gently.<br/>
<br/>
It’s as if that’s all it takes for Ruby to break. The younger girl launches herself at Weiss, ugly sobs wrecking her frame as she presses into Weiss’s chest.<br/>
<br/>
“Weiss… Weiss. <em> Weiss</em>.” Ruby‘s voice is muffled and cracked. It’s a little awkward, this position, and the way Ruby half-leans against her and almost falls into her lap. But Weiss holds her back anyway, one hand tangling with curls of soft black hair, the other around the shoulders. <br/>
<br/>
For the first time in a long while, Ruby just <em> cries</em>.<br/>
<br/>
From where she’s seated, she sees Nora’s unfathomable pale eyes meet her own. <br/>
<br/>
The injured huntress is awake. But, she is uncharacteristically silent. All she does is let her eyes fall shut again and turn to face the window, leaving only the sound of Ruby’s sobs to fill the air in the room, accompanied by the rumbling thunder outside.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss closes her eyes too, humming a soft, gentle tune until Ruby finally falls asleep in her arms.<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
<em>7.<br/>
<br/>
</em>“Whitley,” she says quietly during a lull, when she finds herself stepping away from the argument her team is having with May for a breather. “I’ve a question for you, and I’d like you to be honest.”<br/>
<br/>
The Marigolds have Henry. The Schnees, Whitley.<br/>
<br/>
That thought bothers her more than she cares to admit, driving her to seek out her brother.<br/>
<br/>
Whitley eyes her suspiciously. “What is it?”<br/>
<br/>
She eyes him for a long moment. Whitley seems… different. But she can’t quite put a finger to what changed. He almost seems <em> softer</em>, less hostile, like he finally came to a certain realisation. He also looks like he’s waiting for something, though she hasn’t the faintest idea as to what.<br/>
<br/>
“Sister?” A call for her attention, this time with a wary tinge.<br/>
<br/>
She’s been silent for far too long.<br/>
<br/>
“Are you alright?” she asks then.<br/>
<br/>
He blinks at her, not expecting that at all. He looks like a confused young boy, with blue eyes wide and eyebrows high up. “I’m…” A pause. “Is that really what you want to ask me, Weiss?”<br/>
<br/>
Whitley hasn’t managed to pick up all of their father’s teachings yet, she’s relieved to see. He’s certainly trying, but he’s only <em> fifteen</em>.<br/>
<br/>
And her brother is deflecting from having to answer. It isn’t what she intended to ask, no. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to know though.<br/>
<br/>
Her mother’s words still haunt her.<br/>
<br/>
“Yes,” she admits then. “But it’s not my original question, no.”<br/>
<br/>
He eyes her like he’s trying to figure out a puzzle. He almost looks like he’s at a loss as to what to say in the face of her honesty. “...I’m well. What did you want to ask?”<br/>
<br/>
She goes silent again.<br/>
<br/>
There’s no sugarcoating her question, she knows. There’s no way to twist her words around in a diplomatic way. <br/>
<br/>
With an exhale, she speaks.<br/>
<br/>
“Has father ever hit you?”<br/>
<br/>
“What?” he blinks. “No. Why would - “ he freezes then, staring at her soundlessly with his mouth half-open. <br/>
<br/>
Weiss can’t resist lifting a finger to chuff lightly at the underside of her brother’s chin like she used to do when they were so much younger, closing the mouth gently.<br/>
<br/>
“I take that as a no.” An invisible knot untangles from her shoulder. “Good.” She looks away then, and steps back. “Go back to what you’re doing, brother.”<br/>
<br/>
Whitley’s mouth opens again, and this time his voice hints at shock and something furious, all proprietary dropping from his features. “What is that supposed to - <em> did he hit you?! </em>”<br/>
<br/>
<em> My</em>, she thinks then, one part taken aback, one part bemused, and one part amused. The way Whitley’s brows draw together sharply looks just like Winter when she is angry.<br/>
<br/>
The Schnee siblings. Hot-blooded, all of them.<br/>
<br/>
(Klein arrives soon after, and, <em> oh</em>. So that’s what her baby brother had been waiting for.)<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
<em>8</em>.<br/>
<br/>
And then it all goes to hell in Atlas.<br/>
<br/>
When Weiss fights, she is one of the deadliest opponents possible if given the chance to set up her glyphs with her dance, a choreography made of deadly, enchanting grace.<br/>
<br/>
A silver white glyph appears when she backflips to dodge the Beringel that cracks the ground with a fist.<br/>
<br/>
Another appears as she dodges to a side.<br/>
<br/>
And another, when she presses a hand to the ground to rebalance herself with another backflip; lifting Myrtenaster to level by the side of her cheek, the dust chamber rotating and glowing a bright blue.<br/>
<br/>
A final glyph - black this time - grows beneath the startled Grimm itself to lock it in place.<br/>
<br/>
Then, with a swift motion she cuts through air and flicks her right wrist - <br/>
<br/>
Spikes of ice pierces into it, followed by faintly glowing blue blades from the surrounding glyphs.<br/>
<br/>
And the battle is won.<br/>
<br/>
She breathes in. One down. Then she surveys her surroundings again, watching red, gleaming eyes as multiple Grimm - thankfully not as big as the one she just encountered - slowly converge on her.<br/>
<br/>
So many more to go. And if there’s so many of these in other areas too…  <br/>
<br/>
Her blood runs cold at the thought of Nora, Whitley,  her mother and Klein evacuating only to get ambushed. No, she forces herself to rationalize. They are fine. They have to be. She’s just imagining the worst case scenario. <br/>
<br/>
Her mother may be far too rusty now, but one does not forget how to fight so easily when it used to be second nature. And Klein, despite how he looks, knows self-defense. Nora is already showing signs of recovery, and may just well be able to buy time if necessary.<br/>
<br/>
Suddenly, a black blur bursts through a horde of Grimm to the side, instantly decimating a few as they turn into smoke - and then it somersaults into the air, landing two steps from Weiss with a knee pressed to the ground.<br/>
<br/>
A faunus ear flicks, and golden eyes stare up at her.<br/>
<br/>
Despite the situation, Weiss lets out a breath of relief. “Blake.” She looks over her teammate, seeing soot and dirt smearing the clothes. Otherwise though, and thankfully, Blake seems no worse for wear. <br/>
<br/>
The Faunus grunts, hand gripping her weapon tightly before moving to cover her back. “Not late, thankfully.”<br/>
<br/>
Ordinarily, Weiss won’t think much of that particular comment. But the stark relief in those shadowed amber eyes as they scan her, combined with those words, says enough.<br/>
<br/>
Oh, Blake. Still thinking about Haven Academy, after all this time. Still thinking of the wound on her stomach that had long since healed, leaving only phantom pains that occur so randomly.<br/>
<br/>
Maybe if Blake had been there, she could’ve prevented the javelin from impaling her. <br/>
<br/>
And maybe it’d still happen anyway.<br/>
<br/>
They are never going to know, regardless.<br/>
<br/>
Not for the first time she wonders again - will her team ever stop thinking about her near-death moment?<br/>
<br/>
Weiss huffs, exasperated. <br/>
<br/>
“When this is over,” she says calmly, “You and I are going to have a long, nice discussion.”<br/>
<br/>
Blake’s ears go flat against the skull, as if sensing that Weiss is miffed at her. “What about?” The Faunus actually has the gall to sound confused and innocent. <br/>
<br/>
As if she’s going to tell her. She’s going to keep that card close lest Blake entertains any plans of escaping. <br/>
<br/>
“Later, Blake.” Weiss rolls her eyes, moving back into a familiar stance. Fighting solo and in a pair (or team) has always required a shift of mindset on her part. Alone, she wields her full prowess. In a team, it is her role to make sure <em> they </em>excel. <br/>
<br/>
Blake’s back that presses lightly against her own is warm and solid. And Weiss finds that she’s not as cold anymore.<br/>
<br/>
“Let’s finish this quickly,” she murmurs. “We still need to find Ruby.” <em> And Yang</em>, she doesn’t say. But that’s another can of worms entirely that cannot be resolved right now.<br/>
<br/>
The thought of the <em> almost-kiss </em> and how Ruby had finally broken down crosses her mind, and she shuts them down immediately. Focus. She needs to focus.<br/>
<br/>
“I think she’s by the east side,” Blake responds then, ”Though that’s assuming she hasn’t gone very far since the explosion that split us up.”<br/>
<br/>
Weiss exhales, setting her jaw. “That’s something, at least.”<br/>
<br/>
The Grimm converge on them, and they shift.<br/>
<br/>
They move in sync with practiced ease, glyphs forming as a shadow blurs and replicates - and together, they push back against the horde; Weiss with her grace and control over the elements, Blake with her shadows and speed.<br/>
<br/>
It’s a beautiful, deadly dance of black and white that whittles away at the enemies, sometimes bit by bit, and sometimes in huge swaths, reaping all in their path.<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
<em>9</em>.<br/>
<br/>
It’s a parody of a reunion. <br/>
<br/>
“Unbelievable,” Blake breathes.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss can relate, honestly. Who would have expected all of them to be reunited like this? Is it a coincidence? Fate? Did someone manipulate their movements? <br/>
<br/>
This is <em> crazy</em>.<br/>
<br/>
On one side, she sees Ren and Yang going up against Hazel and Neo, and behind them a bruised and bloody Oscar struggles to remain standing, leaning heavily against his walking stick. The boy, she notes, is conscious, and talking to - at? - Hazel, though she can’t even begin to guess why or what from this far.<br/>
<br/>
Ruby and Jaune, meanwhile, have it out against Cinder and Emerald; and there is an air of dangerous fury etched in the two leaders's expressions. There’s a cruel, goading smirk on the fall maiden’s expression as fire coats her hands, and Emerald, by contrast, just looks… afraid and unsure.<br/>
<br/>
<em> Penny </em> is going head to head with Salem, frost forming all around her as glacier spikes trail in her wake; and the Ace-Ops is right up there with her.<br/>
<br/>
And<span>—</span><br/>
<br/>
“Oh no.” The blood drains from Blake’s face. She's staring to the far left now, and Weiss follows that gaze.<br/>
<br/>
Her breath catches.<br/>
<br/>
She sees Whitley taking hold of Nora’s weapon - in its rocket launcher form - with shaky hands, and she sees her pale, trembling mother. Next to them, she sees Klein kneeling by Nora’s side, who's lying down and breathing hard.<br/>
<br/>
And in front of them, acting as their sentinels, she sees <em> Winter and Qrow </em> fighting together against Tyrian and Arthur.<br/>
<br/>
<em> No</em>.<br/>
<br/>
The grip she has on Myrtenaster goes knuckle white<span>—</span><br/>
<br/>
“Wait,” Blake murmurs beside her from where they are hiding. The grip she has on Weiss’s arm is tight and desperate. “Weiss, wait.”<br/>
<br/>
“That’s - “ a tremor is rising in her blood. “They -  “<br/>
<br/>
“I know,” the Faunus is whispering urgently. Blake drags her into a steely hug, refusing to let her go, and her back presses against the other’s warm front. “I know, but you need to wait. They haven’t found us yet - this is our chance.”<br/>
<br/>
She’s struggling to stay calm. Her blood thunders in her veins, in her ears.<br/>
<br/>
Every single person that’s precious to her is <em> right here in this damnable whale</em>.<br/>
<br/>
“How is this possible?” she asks, ashen, honing in on the way her mother clasps her hands to her ears with eyes shut tightly, trembling as a fearful Whitley bodily crouches in front of her with a tight grip on Nora’s weapon. “How could this have happened? They should’ve evacuated by now. And why is <em> Arthur </em> here?!“<br/>
<br/>
Blake hushes her, gripping her even more tightly - a desperate demand for her to lower her harshly rising voice.<br/>
<br/>
“I don’t know, Weiss.” Her words are soft and warm against her ear. “But you need to calm down. Right now, you and I are the plus two in this… in this chaos. We may be able to turn the tide to our favor if we do this right.”<br/>
<br/>
Weiss’s jaw clenches. Her breath trembles. “What are you proposing that we do?” <br/>
<br/>
She glances over at Ruby, watching the worryingly cold anger in those eyes as the scythe twirls towards Cinder, leaving red petals in the wake of her semblance. <br/>
<br/>
Blake’s concerned gaze is fixed on Yang, who flares bright and gold, eyes crimson, her focus singularly on Neopolitan. “We watch. For now. And we find a chance.”<br/>
<br/>
Weiss exhales. “A decisive strike to take any one of them down. If not more.”<br/>
<br/>
“Yes.” <br/>
<br/>
Another heartbeat of silence.<br/>
<br/>
“Fine,” Weiss breathes in again. The fear and worry in her is rapidly turning into anger now, and she feels the archaic rage she is no longer used to coming back like a parasite latching onto her, leeching away at her self-control. “<em>Fine</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
If her words seem sharper and colder, reminiscent of her earliest days in Beacon when her temper is the most explosive, Blake doesn't point it out.<br/>
<br/>
This hot fury churning in her stomach, growing like an inferno - it’s burning through her veins, settling in her bones, and clouding her thoughts. <br/>
<br/>
It’s really only the grip that Blake has on her that keeps her anchored in the present. <br/>
<br/>
And so they wait.<br/>
<br/>
They wait.<br/>
<br/>
And as soon as she finds out which one among them kidnapped her defenseless family to <em> this forsaken place </em><span>—</span><br/>
<br/>
Oh, they will <em> pay</em>.<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
<br/>
<em>10.</em><br/>
<br/>
As luck has it, like most plans team RWBY has - even if it’s half the team, currently - they go terribly awry. What initially is a planned ambush is now a two-pronged rescue.<br/>
<br/>
Her hand flicks, forming a speed glyph right underneath Blake. The other stabs Myrtenaster into the ground, forming her very own white glyph.<br/>
<br/>
“Go,” Weiss orders. The time for words is past. <br/>
<br/>
More glyphs marking a path forward come to life from where the Faunus is bracing herself; a sort of vibrating grey-gold glow blanketing her very presence.<br/>
<br/>
Blake doesn’t even speak - she just <em> goes</em>; a black blur speeding across the arena to slam right into a startled Emerald; Weiss can see Jaune and Ruby looking up in surprise from where they had fallen after their reckless, anger-induced attack - and then she forces her attention away.<br/>
<br/>
There’s no time to even take a moment to breathe.<br/>
<br/>
Not for the first time, she pushes the limits of her glyph and control - her family is so much further away compared to the distance Blake had to Emerald. <br/>
<br/>
Doing this will most certainly take out a good chunk of her Aura on top of what she already had to use earlier, and without Blake as a guard, she is as good as vulnerable while she does this. She can only hope she doesn’t get ambushed.<br/>
<br/>
She’s never attempted this from so far away before. But she doesn’t have a choice.<br/>
<br/>
She stretches out, out - summoning a glyph of pure white in front of her defenseless family, startling all the people in the vicinity; from her family who gapes in shock to Arthur who takes a step back from where he had his gun aimed at Klein -<br/>
<br/>
Weiss almost buckles at the strain of keeping her glyph bright and steady. Too far. <em> Too far</em>. She’s never done long distance summoning before, and this is literally a trial by fire.<br/>
<br/>
<em>Come out</em>, she demands, orders. <br/>
<br/>
Arthur seems to collect himself the next moment, aiming his gun again - <br/>
<br/>
The grip Weiss has on Myrtenaster goes white.<br/>
<br/>
A gunshot rings.<br/>
<br/>
And a luminescent sword - a tall, opaque blue sword stabs upward from her glyph - blocks the bullet.<br/>
<br/>
She buckles, gasping for breath, still trying to concentrate.<br/>
<br/>
<em>Come. Out</em>.<br/>
<br/>
A giant white knight rises to life.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss grits her teeth.<br/>
<br/>
The knight does a far and wide sweep with its sword, and Arthur backs away instantly. <br/>
<br/>
She breathes in. <em> Now </em> she has time to get over there. <br/>
<br/>
The glyph underneath her turns gold, sending a vibrating hum over her skin - and she moves.<br/>
<br/>
Several things happen at once.<br/>
<br/>
First: Hazel dropping Oscar from where he lifted the boy and turning to launch himself at Salem with an anguished roar; Ren skids to a halt, and both Yang and Neo pause, staring in surprise.<br/>
<br/>
Second: Ruby teleporting Blake away before Cinder’s fireball can slam into her as Jaune shoves his shield at the fall maiden, making her stagger.<br/>
<br/>
Third: Penny disengaging from Salem, turning to look at Weiss before speeding right at her - and then, with a hand that lifts up, the android sends glacier spikes towards her.<br/>
<br/>
<em>What</em>? Weiss’s breath does catch at that; and she shifts to avoid them - but then Penny is moving again, this time with frost forming all around her and in her wake, eyes flashing <em> red </em> - <br/>
<br/>
She can’t avoid this, she instinctively knows, not when she’s under the effect of a time glyph and not when Penny is predicting her path. Penny has caught her by complete surprise.<br/>
<br/>
Weiss slams into the wall hard, and despite how she tries to brace herself, the impact jars her all the way to her lungs, and she coughs wetly as the chill of the frost seeps into her bones.<br/>
<br/>
Her Aura has shattered. And with it, her knight disappears.<br/>
<br/>
Dark red liquid splatters on the ground. <br/>
<br/>
She slumps, the inside of her mouth tasting of a metallic tang.<br/>
<br/>
Her mother is screaming, she recognizes faintly. <br/>
<br/>
A white, majestic Nevermore comes to life from a bright, glimmering glyph - it screeches loud and shrill, wings flapping powerfully. The large bird hones in on Penny wordlessly, swooping after the rapidly approaching android who swerves to avoid it.<br/>
<br/>
Her head spins and she gasps. Her vision goes spotty. She has a concussion, she thinks. Maybe a really bad one.<br/>
<br/>
Penny. Penny. <em> Penny betrayed them</em>. It’s so impossible, the thought, and yet what just happened - but wait, Penny’s eyes went red? - something must have -  oh and her mother just <em> summoned </em> - what in the world just - is Whitley okay? Is Klein? Is <em> Winter</em>? The last she saw is Tyrion somehow snapping one of Winter’s swords into halves before Qrow drags her back to safety - and Ruby, Yang, Blake - Ruby is -<br/>
<br/>
Her thoughts are scattering away from her. It’s so much colder now, and it’s so <em> hard </em>to focus. It’s as if the frost is permeating her all the way inside and - <br/>
<br/>
She stills as she finally manages to look at herself.<br/>
<br/>
An ice chunk has pierced right through her stomach.<br/>
<br/>
Oh, she thinks mutely. That’s why it’s so cold. It certainly does explain what finally manages to motivate her mother into fighting the weight of her old trauma.<br/>
<br/>
And oh, this is ironic - the blood-stained ice is impaling through the same spot that javelin did <span>—</span><br/>
<br/>
“WEISS!”<br/>
<br/>
The scream, this time, is loud and heartbroken, echoing through the air.<br/>
<br/>
Ruby, she thinks. It’s her dolt of a partner.<br/>
<br/>
A silver shine envelops the entire area then; so bright it almost blinds her.<br/>
<br/>
For the briefest of a moment, everything is still.<br/>
<br/>
And then <em> everything </em> is shaking, and she can feel the vibration even from where she’s slumped against despite the growing numbness. It’s like something is collapsing, breaking apart <span>—</span><br/>
<br/>
Her breaths are slow and shallow, and a small, faint part of her knows that’s not a good sign.<br/>
<br/>
She tries to stay awake. She’s honestly trying.<br/>
<br/>
But it’s cold. It’s so <em> cold</em>.<br/>
<br/>
And vaguely, through blurry vision, she can see a few figures scrambling towards her, but… it’s no good. She can’t focus.<br/>
<br/>
Her vision blacks out completely.<br/>
<br/>
.<br/>
.<br/>
.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Now. What do I even say… uh. If you don’t know me, hi. If you for some absurd reason do recognize me… well, I’m flattered. Also hi. I’m back? Ahem.</p><p>So… credits first.</p><p>Big thank you to birdhymns, for willingly becoming a guinea pig and beta, especially when I haven’t written for RWBY in a long, long while. </p><p>A thank you and grumble goes to someone I won’t name here - for linking me the Rubia song, essentially kicking me into a writing cesspit, and then laughing unrepentantly for getting me into this mess.</p><p>Additional kudos go to HopeOfMorning910 for writing some really fascinating stories, which really did bring me back into the fandom; and also iwillwalk500miles for the stellar narration of the Schnee siblings, without which I probably wouldn’t be as inspired to write about them. </p><p>I guess I’ll discuss the story a little bit. </p><p>The fic is completely divergent from season 8 episode 7, and though I did try to keep it canonical to that point, there are still some creative liberties I have taken. Especially with how RWBY… progressed. And it will become more obvious later, if not yet already. The timeline of events that occur in RWBY has also been rather vague to me, if not deceptive, so I basically made certain snap judgments about those too. I am, also, very pointedly ignoring a few things, because otherwise I’d never have finished this.</p><p>Thus, if there are things that don’t seem to line up accurately with RWBY events, or if it turns out that I did lose my touch with the characters and subjected you to terrible and butchered characterizations, well... you know why now.</p><p>A certain discord may also recognize a specific excerpt in the fic because I posted it in the channel there as a teaser of sorts, so if you see this, hello. Sorry I was being secretive. And for making it look like it would end in fluff. *shifty eyes*</p><p>As a general FYI as well, it’s pretty unlikely I’ll be posting this on FFnet, so AO3 is the sole platform.</p><p>Last but not least: Congratulations on successfully slogging through 10k of written words (plus this A/N). I’m actually impressed you read the entirety of this first half of the silly little story I wrote on a whim. The second part is done and is being cleaned up, so it shouldn’t be too long before I post that one.</p><p>Stay safe, y’all. Thank you for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. when lament becomes carol</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><b>revolving doors of beliefs<br/></b>Part 2 of 2 | when lament becomes carol | 11,491 words<br/>Post season 8 episode 7 — completely divergent from this point onwards. Spoilers abound.<br/><br/>BGM: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beb_MUu8TqM">Rubia</a> — Honkai Impact 3rd.<br/><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/><br/><em>11.<br/><br/></em>Waking up is a long, slow process.<br/><br/>Unlike last time, even with Jaune’s Aura helping her heal, she takes far longer to reopen her eyes. Her body does not want to wake no matter how she wishes for it, but her mind is active enough to catch some snatches of dialogue that occur around her.<br/><br/>Such as this one.<br/><br/>“Weiss,” her sister’s voice sounds so broken. “Forgive me,” a whisper. “If I - If I had just realised how wrong the general was —”<br/><br/>There’s also this one.<br/><br/>“Weiss.” Yang calls her name quietly. And then she’s silent for a minute. Two minutes. Three. And then… just more silence. Yang doesn’t say anything else.<br/><br/>This.<br/><br/>“My little girl,” her mother murmurs sadly, brushing away stray strands of white hair with trembling fingers.<br/><br/>Another.<br/><br/>“If you don’t wake up, I will never forgive you. Never. Do you hear me?” Her brother. Despite the fact that it’s a harsh demand, his voice sounds so soft, so <em>young</em>.<br/><br/>Another.<br/><br/>“Weiss.” Blake sounds so… raw. She sits by the side of the bed, pressing Weiss’s limp hand to her temple. “We need you, Weiss. Please wake up.”<br/><br/>And so many more fractious, one-sided conversations, from Jaune to Nora to… everyone else in the strange ragtag group that they have.<br/><br/>But throughout it all, there is one who never speaks.<br/><br/>Ruby.<br/><br/>Weiss knows she’s there though. She can feel her presence, silent and ghost-like; always there when no one else is, watching her without a word.<br/><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/><br/><em>12.<br/><br/></em>It's three weeks before she finally wakes.<br/><br/>“You scared us to death, kid.” Qrow’s voice is dry, rough.<br/><br/>There’s a pause before she finds herself pointing out a problem with his statement. “...You're not actually dead, though.” She fiddles with the plastic cup filled with warm water that she’s holding on her lap where she’s seated against the headrest.<br/><br/>“Heh. Already got your sass back, little Schnee?” He grunts.<br/><br/>She sighs, already exasperated by this man. “How long was I asleep?” Her body feels strangely lethargic and slow, and the tube attached to her forearm itches a little.<br/><br/>“A while. The whole 'being made into a kebab again' aside, you had a pretty bad concussion on top of hypothermia. You were pretty touch and go for a day or three, enough that the doc wasn’t sure if you would wake up.” A pause. “And by bad concussion, I mean bleeding-in-the-brain-bad.”<br/><br/>“...Ah.”<br/><br/>“Anyway,” he continues. “I informed everyone. If I had to take a guess, your team's rushing back right now.”<br/><br/>Her brows furrow. “Where are they rushing back from?”<br/><br/>This time he eyes her more carefully. “What’s the last thing you remember?”<br/><br/>She remembers getting impaled. And… “The battle in that monstrous… thing. I got - ” Instinctively, her hand lifts to touch at her stomach through the clothes. “ - Hurt. And then a bright light.” <em>Ruby</em>.<br/><br/>“Hmm,” Qrow muses. “I guess you didn’t forget anything.”<br/><br/>And then the huntsman explains, as briefly as he can.<br/><br/>The whale… had started collapsing, an aftereffect from whatever was it that Ruby did with Oscar’s (Ozpin’s?) assistance. Weiss can’t say she understands how that works, exactly, but the fact is it ended with Salem and her crew retreating, apparently somehow hurt by all that. And the rest of them had just scrambled to escape from that place.<br/><br/>It'd also revealed that Arthur was the one who had manipulated Penny into attacking Weiss, and now Pietro was working to undo what he had wrought.<br/><br/>James Ironwood had been confined for his indirect actions that lead to that being possible, among other… crimes.<br/><br/>But essentially, the siege on Atlas and Mantle had ended.<br/><br/>Qrow slouches into the chair. “We're helping with the clean up in Mantle and Atlas now. Lots to be done.”<br/><br/>She can imagine. There’s been so much damage caused by the Grimm.<br/><br/>Her brow arches. “Why are you here then?”<br/><br/>The corner of his lip tilts up. “We're taking turns to watch over you during our breaks. The hospital has been pretty short-staffed recently. And as luck - or your misfortune - has it, it’s my turn when you wake up.” There’s something very cynical about the way he says that.<br/><br/>Weiss just stares at him. The older man looks haggard. Weathered. Almost as if he’s on the verge of becoming the man he was in Brunswick Farms again. Something happened to him when they were all separated, she thinks. Something that broke him again.<br/><br/>And she… she doesn’t know how to help him. They really only ever had a handful of conversations together. But she needs to try. For him, if not for his nieces.<br/><br/>“Did you…” She gestures awkwardly. “I’m awake now. Perhaps you should go rest? A nap, maybe?”<br/><br/>He looks back at her in surprise, brows raising. Then he chuckles, this time more genuinely. “Your sister would throttle me if I doze off on my watch, kid.”<br/><br/>Faintly, she remembers the broken way Winter had spoken while she was asleep. “What - “<br/><br/>The door slams open with a bang and she jumps, the cup of water she’s been holding sloshing and dangerously close to spilling.<br/><br/>It’s —<br/><br/>Ruby. Yang. Blake.<br/><br/>— her team.<br/><br/>They stare at her, frozen.<br/><br/>She stares back, blue eyes wide, like a deer caught in the headlights.<br/><br/>“Um,” she says uncertainly, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. “Hi?”<br/><br/>And suddenly they are all descending on her, squishing her back to the bed as Ruby launches herself onto her, the cup of water slipping out of her grasp and tumbling down to the floor; Blake curls arms around her tightly, pressing her nose into Weiss’s neck, and Yang completes that circle by gathering all three of them into her arms.<br/><br/>By the side, Qrow is sighing - “Did you break the speed limit again, Yang? You know our new Acting General Schnee isn’t going to be happy - ”<br/><br/>Acting General <em>what</em>? There’s a story there, Weiss knows. She has a strong feeling that many things have happened while she’s been unconscious.<br/><br/>But she also can’t quite bring herself to care at the moment. Ruby is crying into her chest, like she’s finally able to let herself break apart, Blake is sniffling, and Yang is tearing up too —<br/><br/>“You’re all idiots,” she manages to say, overwhelmed by the emotional disaster that's her team.<br/><br/>She hugs them as best as she can, still.<br/><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/><br/><em>13.<br/><br/></em>The way Winter looks strangely worn out does not sit well with Weiss.<br/><br/>Her sister just stares inside from the door to the patient room. “Can I come in?” It’s a quiet question.<br/><br/>Something’s wrong. Her brows furrow in concern. She sits up, fluffing the pillow behind her to rest against the headboard. “Of course. Please come in.”<br/><br/>And so her sister does, closing the door behind them before stepping up to her bed slowly. Winter doesn’t sit, her shoulders seem to sag a little, and she stops one step from the bed; expression downcast and on the blanket on Weiss’s bed.<br/><br/>Silence reigns.<br/><br/>It goes on long enough that Weiss finally finds herself speaking first. “Winter?”<br/><br/>That finally gets her sister to look up.<br/><br/>Blue eyes of the same shade look at each other.<br/><br/>“I need to apologize to you.”<br/><br/>Faintly, once more, Weiss remembers the words the older woman said while she had been unconscious.<br/><br/>“Winter.” She hesitates. “There’s nothing for you to apologize for - “<br/><br/>“But there is.” The abruptness is so unlike her sister to make. Winter looks away again.<br/><br/>Weiss comes up with a blank. “I…” she pauses, unsure what to say. She reaches out, grasping at Winter’s palm, tugging gently. “Please sit down?”<br/><br/>She tries to ignore the way her sister flinches at her touch.<br/><br/>“My neck is going to ache from looking up,” she says lightly, tugging again, curling their fingers together, almost like how she used to do when she was a child. “Please?”<br/><br/>That spurs her sister into moving, and mechanically, Winter moves to sit on the bed, because the free chair is on the <em>other </em>side, and Weiss refuses to release her hand.<br/><br/>Weiss continues to grip the hand where it now lays on her lap. “...Could you explain why you need to apologize, please?”<br/><br/>It’s so strange, having to be gentle like this. Her sister looks hesitant and almost afraid, as if one word from Weiss is all it will take to break her.<br/><br/>There is a long moment before the older woman is able to speak.<br/><br/>“I was… complicit.” Something ashen twists Winter’s expression. “In how you almost died.”<br/><br/>She blinks. “What?”<br/><br/>Her sister exhales. “The general ordered Arthur to hack into Penny. And I knew about it. I...”<br/><br/>There is something so utterly devastated in Winter’s expression that it makes something deep in her ache. As if her older sister couldn’t believe what had happened, that this was the results of her following the orders of the man she had admired deeply —<br/><br/>Penny. Arthur. James.<br/><br/>It’s not as if Ironwood had ordered for Weiss to be killed, of course, but he had chosen to make Arthur do his bidding for all the wrong reasons, and Arthur had… clearly done more than what was ordered.<br/><br/>And now the older woman is admitting to being part of that circle of coincidences.<br/><br/>Oh no.<br/><br/>“Winter. Winter, that’s not true - “<br/><br/>“But it is.” Her sister cuts her off again. “I should have stopped him. I should <em>have</em>. I knew nothing good would’ve come out of working with Arthur but the general… he was my general. I was… I was...”<br/><br/>Winter falls quiet then. The hand that Weiss holds trembles.<br/><br/>“...You were following orders?” Weiss continues for her quietly.<br/><br/>Something in the older woman’s expression crumbles.<br/><br/>“Yes.” The words are so hollow now. “And because of that, you almost died. You, my little sister, the one who Penny almost...” Winter covers her mouth with her free hand, looking as if she can still barely come to terms with what happened.<br/><br/>“I harmed you, Weiss.” A faint, horrified and disbelieving whisper. “Instead of protecting you, I… I almost killed you.”<br/><br/>Weiss tightens her hold. “This isn’t on you.”<br/><br/>“It is - “<br/><br/>“No.” She’s firm now. “You’ve had your say. Now it’s my turn.”<br/><br/>Winter goes silent at that.<br/><br/>Weiss stares at her. “You trusted the general. Deeply. But he…” she pauses. “He used you. And he would’ve continued to use you to do things you never want to do, if he thought they were for the best. Do you agree with that statement, Winter?”<br/><br/>Raw agony twists in her sister’s expression at that. Before the siege on Atlas, Weiss knows Winter would have firmly denied it.<br/><br/>But she needs to see if the answer is still a no, now.<br/><br/>“Yes.” Winter closes her eyes. The words are whisper soft. “Yes. You are right.”<br/><br/>She feels something loosen in her, but there’s still one more thing she needs to confirm. She takes in a deep breath.<br/><br/>“Do you see the parallels between him and our father now? Do you see why I couldn’t trust him?”<br/><br/>There is a moment - a long, long five seconds - where the older woman stares at her, stupefied.<br/><br/>And then.<br/><br/>Winter jerks visibly and shudders out a trembling breath, shoulders bowing. At the revelation? At the <em>comparison</em>?<br/><br/>Oh, how her heart aches to see that. She did that to her sister. <em>She</em> did that.<br/><br/>There’s a hard lump in Weiss’s throat now, and all she wants to do is to take back her words and hide Winter from this cruel, ruthless epiphany. But she forces herself to remain calm. She has to push on. <em>She has to</em>.<br/><br/>“...Yes.” There’s a fragile quiver in her sister’s voice. “I... I see it now.”<br/><br/>“And he is now awaiting trial for the crimes he committed,” she continues quietly. “From indirect attempted murder to… murder of a council member. Among other things. Like insurrection. Nothing that can be so easily forgiven.”<br/><br/>Another tremble. “Yes.”<br/><br/>There’s a long moment before Weiss speaks again. “Why are you taking on the sins of someone that’s not yours to take?”<br/><br/>Winter’s breath catches. “I followed his orders blindly - ”<br/><br/>“You trusted him,” she cuts in. “Trusting wrongly isn’t a crime, Winter.” A pause. “Maybe it was foolish. But it wasn’t a crime.”<br/><br/>Her sister is silent again.<br/><br/>“And I’m alive,” Weiss feels like she has to point out. “Very much alive and right in front of you, and getting out of here in a few days. With a clean bill of health, courtesy of the terrified doctors you have hounding me.”<br/><br/>The phantom pain that comes so sporadically has returned with a vengeance, and even now the fresh scar on her side still throbs, but Weiss now knows that her sister is one more person who she will never tell.<br/><br/>Winter stares at her, something raw, guilty and anguished in that wavering gaze.<br/><br/>The inscrutable expression that’s like a second skin to her sister is nowhere to be seen; all but worn away by the general she had been so loyal to.<br/><br/>“Do you still want to apologize?” she asks quietly. “And for me to forgive you?”<br/><br/>There’s a tremor of something so desperate in her sister’s whisper. “Yes.”<br/><br/>“So apologize,” Weiss says imperiously. Maybe demands. “And give me a hug. Then I’ll forgive you.”<br/><br/>Winter barks out a weak, startled laughter at that; her sister’s voice is cracked, there is still some sort of rawness in it, and Weiss can see the tears forming in that crumpled expression —<br/><br/>And then the older woman is reaching out to pull her into a tight, tight embrace.<br/><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/><br/><em>14.<br/><br/></em>Dealing with Yang is always an experience.<br/><br/>A happy Yang is all loud sunshine and warmth, a brooding Yang darkly quiet and muted.<br/><br/>Today, her usually exuberant teammate seems like a combination of broody and thoughtful.<br/><br/>“You know,” the blonde murmurs from where she’s sitting cross-legged on the bottom bunk in the dorm, “You were impaled to the wall with that ice chunk.”<br/><br/>Weiss furrows her brow, but she doesn’t stop unpacking her items on the table. “What do you mean?”<br/><br/>“Exactly what I said.” The words are quiet. “Penny’s little ice chunk that speared you got embedded into the wall.”<br/><br/>Her movements still.<br/><br/>Vaguely, she remembers how hard she’d have slammed into the wall from the rattling impact.<br/><br/>So she'd been… actually stuck to the wall.<br/><br/>“...Oh.”<br/><br/>“Oh,” Yang mimics, a harsh, disbelieving chuckle escaping her.<br/><br/>Silence.<br/><br/>And then she speaks again, still soft, still quiet. “That’s the second time you almost died.”<br/><br/>Despite herself, a crooked smile forms. “Both by impalement.” She picks out a folded red scarf from the bag to put on the table.<br/><br/>“That’s not funny.” Yang doesn’t sound angry. Just… factual.<br/><br/>Weiss winces. Her attempt at easing the mood has clearly failed. She supposes that she really is bad at jokes, seeing as Yang can’t even laugh at her terrible attempt now.<br/><br/>Then.<br/><br/>“There wasn’t any time for Jaune to start healing you,” Yang murmurs. “Not with the place collapsing.”<br/><br/>Weiss stops unpacking entirely, turning to face her taller teammate.<br/><br/>“I had to melt it off you as fast as I could.” Yang is the only one among them with a heat semblance, and semblances are usually far easier to control in delicate situations compared to volatile red dust. “But I had to also make sure I didn’t melt off the chunk <em>in</em> you or you would have bled out.”<br/><br/>Yang’s hand partially covers her downturned mouth; a thumb rubs at the side of her jaw. “You were bleeding in my arms. And you were cold. And so still. I thought...”<br/><br/>“You thought?” she asks, as gently as she can, moving to sit by her friend. Yang stares distantly at the wall.<br/><br/>“I thought we’d have lost you for real.” The whisper cuts a sharp contrast to Yang's usual exuberance.<br/><br/>She nudges lightly with a shoulder. “Sounds like I have you to thank for me being alive.”<br/><br/>“Of course you do. I made the ice stuck in you <em>melt </em>with my <em>soul</em> after all.” A pun. Of course it’s a pun, despite the mood in the room right now. But Weiss finds that she can’t even bring herself to be exasperated when she sees lilac eyes misting over.<br/><br/>“You need to stop giving me heart attacks like this, Weiss.” A pause. “You're...”<br/><br/>The blonde goes silent again.<br/><br/>“I’m what?” she prods.<br/><br/>“You’re the one keeping our team together now, you know.”<br/><br/>She blinks, suddenly off guard. “Pardon?”<br/><br/>A ghost of a smirk appears on Yang’s face. “I know something you don’t, huh?”<br/><br/>Her brows furrow in genuine confusion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”<br/><br/>“In our team, Ruby’s the one who… sets the direction for us.” Yang pauses. “I’m the muscle guy, and the hype guy. Blake adapts to whatever she needs to be when the situation calls for it. And you… you keep all of us grounded.”<br/><br/>She doesn’t quite know what to say to that.<br/><br/>“You kept us safe, even when we were being silly. You always make sure we don’t go too far, or if we do anyway, you are there to catch us.” Another pause. “Blake mentioned that Ruby was getting reckless with Cinder, and you made her go to their aid immediately.”<br/><br/>“That’s my role in the team though, isn’t it?” With her glyphs and her control over elements, she’s the only one who’s able to fulfill this role.<br/><br/>“Yeah. In battles and outside, apparently.” Yang is somber again. “But, Weiss. Who keeps you safe?”<br/><br/>“That’s…” she closes her mouth before she could’ve said herself. She also almost says she doesn’t need to be kept safe. But a gut feeling is telling her, very strongly, that Yang is vehemently opposed to both answers.<br/><br/>“You are like this tiny little thing.” Yang’s words are so soft and serious that she can’t even bring herself to be indignant. “You weigh so little, you have less endurance than us, your stamina isn’t the best, a solid hit could stagger you badly, and yet… and <em>yet</em>.”<br/><br/>More silence.<br/><br/>“We should be protecting you,” Yang murmurs. “We should be protecting each other. And twice now, we failed you.”<br/><br/>“That’s - Yang. No.” She has to correct this. “That’s not true. It was unavoidable in both those situations.” They couldn’t have expected Cinder to target her to goad Jaune. And they certainly could not have expected <em>Penny</em> to attack her.<br/><br/>The blonde frowns. “There’s other things too. I’m not blind, Weiss. Ruby's been a little different. You probably talked to her sometime before the whale thing, didn’t you? Of course, you getting hurt has kind of made her go crazy, but she’s not closed off like before.”<br/><br/>Crazy what?<br/><br/>A small part of her wants to ask for clarification, but right now, there’s another thing that’s more important.<br/><br/>Weiss looks at Yang for a long moment.<br/><br/>“Are you still angry at Ruby?”<br/><br/>Her teammate huffs. “Who says I’m angry?“<br/><br/>“Yang.”<br/><br/>The blonde deflates. “...Maybe a little.”<br/><br/>Weiss makes a noise of disapproval. “You two need to talk.” Then she hesitates. “I think she may actually be honest with you this time. You should be too, by the way.”<br/><br/>Yang turns her attention from the wall to stare at her. “So you <em>did</em> talk to her.”<br/><br/>The ex-heiress looks away. “...I may have lectured her a bit.”<br/><br/>The memory of that day in the Schnee manor comes back to mind crystal-clear.<br/><br/>Blonde eyebrows arches up. “Define ‘lecture’.”<br/><br/>Weiss shakes her head, feeling heat creep up her neck. She’s not telling the overprotective big sister about Ruby coming on to her, or that she made her partner cry. “Let’s just say she’s aware of how much of a dolt she’s been for a while.”<br/><br/>A pause.<br/><br/>“I was justified in being mad at her,” Yang insists, almost scowling. “I totally was.”<br/><br/>Oh, she knows. Unfortunately though, Ruby may have misconstrued what Yang’s anger was really about.<br/><br/>Yang has been mad about two things — the first is Ruby not talking to them before making judgments on how to proceed, and the second is that when things go bad, their leader shifts <em>all</em> the responsibilities onto herself.<br/><br/>They may be a team, but that doesn’t mean their opinions will always align. And herein lies the rub: It hasn’t occurred to Ruby that, when a solution isn’t so clear cut that everyone can agree to it, she has to know how to <em>compromise</em>.<br/><br/>And that is what really caused the conflict between the two sisters — not that Yang tried to clarify her words either.<br/><br/>She also has a feeling that Yang doesn’t really know how to be angry at Ruby, which… really isn’t surprising. Weiss has that problem when it comes to family too.<br/><br/>They do have many things in common after all.<br/><br/>Weiss’s next words are wry. “All the more reason to talk to her. Do it soon, please, before I lock you two into a closet. Don’t think I won’t.”<br/><br/>It’s Yang’s turn to sigh with a shake of the head.<br/><br/>“You even managed to knock sense into my little sister.” The blonde sounds so sardonic now. “What have we done for you?”<br/><br/>This she can answer honestly. “All of you gave me the family I never had.”<br/><br/>Yang exhales. “That doesn’t really count.”<br/><br/>Weiss scoffs. “I beg to differ. It does count.”<br/><br/>The blonde goes silent again.<br/><br/>Then.<br/><br/>“You really do believe that,” Yang murmurs, seemingly surprised despite herself.<br/><br/>“I can’t say I want to imagine a life where I’ve never met any of you,” Weiss says lightly. “Even you, the bumbling buffoon who makes me lose my temper all the time.”<br/><br/>“Ice queeeen~”<br/><br/>Yang drags her into a gentle headlock with one arm, pulling her close as she squeaks in surprise. “Hey!”<br/><br/>It’s another beat of silence before her teammate speaks again.<br/><br/>“We will do better for you, Weiss,” Yang says softly, tapping the side of their heads together. “I swear. We will be the family you deserve to have.”<br/><br/>There is a long moment when she feels her heart ache strangely, like it’s been filled with something she can’t quite describe, only that it’s warm and sad and spilling over.<br/><br/>“You already are, Yang.” There’s something weighty and loaded in her soft words, something affectionate and tender. “I promise you all are.”<br/><br/>And then she’s sighing.<br/><br/>She pokes at the burly arm curling around her neck. “And stop suffocating me already, will you?”<br/><br/>In response, Yang squeezes <em>tighter</em>.<br/><br/>Weiss squawks, offended.<br/><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/><br/><em>15.<br/><br/></em>She taps a knuckle on the side of the bookshelf.<br/><br/>“Hey,” Weiss says.<br/><br/>An ear twitches. Golden eyes look up at her from where they were studiously scanning an open blue hardcover book in her hands.<br/><br/>“Hello,” Blake replies.<br/><br/>Her teammate is currently perched on the ledge before the large window of the library in Atlas Academy, comfortably soaking in the warm, bright sun shining in as she leans against the thick, curved wooden indent of the window frame.<br/><br/>And though Weiss honestly doesn't mean this in a bad way, she is entertained by the reminder of a cat curling in to relax under the sun.<br/><br/>She eyes her teammate with an inscrutable look.<br/><br/>A minute of silence passes between them as their gazes fence.<br/><br/>It goes without saying that Blake <em>is</em> poker-faced too, during these sixty seconds. Her ears, however, are betraying her. First they perk up curiously. Then they twitch a total of three times.<br/><br/>And finally, under Weiss’s scrutiny, they go flat against her skull.<br/><br/>“Weiss,” Blake says plaintively. It’s almost a whine. “You are staring.”<br/><br/>Her lips twitch.<br/><br/>“So are you,” Weiss banters back, a touch teasingly.<br/><br/>The way Blake eyes her curiously makes her think that her friend is trying to figure out what Weiss is up to, in addition to calculating choices and possible outcomes.<br/><br/>Then, interestingly, she nods to herself and closes her book.<br/><br/>Blake pats at the empty spot in front of her invitingly, features hinting at a quiet smile as she curls arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knee.<br/><br/>“How courteous,” Weiss muses, lips tilting up as she walks over to push herself up onto the ledge to sit, a few inches from Blake’s feet.<br/><br/>In this position, the sun is soothingly warm against her back, and her eyes travel the empty library. There is only Blake and her in this tranquility, and strangely, she finds herself liking it.<br/><br/>Amber eyes peer at her. “Have you taken your medicine today?”<br/><br/>Weiss huffs. “Oh come on, you too?” She groans. “Yang asked me the exact same question literally two hours ago. And, <em>yes</em>, I have.”<br/><br/>“For someone so meticulous, you often forgot when you got sick in Beacon,” is the pointed remark from Blake. “This is why we keep track for you.”<br/><br/>She just grumbles. “Nags, all of you.”<br/><br/>“You did scare us, Weiss,” is Blake’s wry but amused response. There’s also a hint of gravity in the Faunus’s otherwise light tone, enough that Weiss sighs.<br/><br/>“I’m aware,” their eyes meet. “And I’m sorry for worrying all of you.”<br/><br/>Blake is quiet for a moment, a finger brushing idly against the spine of the book she’s holding.<br/><br/>“It wasn’t your fault.” A pause. “I don’t think any of us would’ve expected Penny to attack you.”<br/><br/>Weiss drums a finger against the ledge lightly. “She was behaving a bit strangely when she arrived at the manor.”<br/><br/>“Mmm.” Blake makes a non-committal noise, ears twitching before they go flat. “She was.”<br/><br/>Weiss stares at her suspiciously. “What’s going on in that intelligent brain of yours, Belladonna?”<br/><br/>Her teammate avoids her piercing gaze. “Nothing.”<br/><br/>“Blake.” Her gaze narrows. “Don’t make me hunt Yang down.”<br/><br/>The Faunus makes a face at that, before sighing.<br/><br/>“I…” Blake swallows a little, eyes down at the book where her finger is worrying the spine of it. “I should have suspected something. I thought I saw Penny’s eyes go red a few times when she was fighting Salem. It was too far, so I wasn’t sure. But if I - ”<br/><br/>“Nope,” Weiss interrupts. “We are not doing this. No one but <em>Arthur Watts</em> is to blame for this. If you want to start blaming yourself, then I’m going to start blaming me. I swear I will, Blake.”<br/><br/>There’s a moment where Blake seems to struggle with her next words.<br/><br/>And then.<br/><br/>“...That’s not fair.” Blake is <em>sulking</em>. “That's blackmail.”<br/><br/>“To not blame yourself?” Weiss says snootily. “How heinous of me to not regret it.”<br/><br/>Blake huffs, kicking very lightly at her hip in juvenile retaliation.<br/><br/>Weiss’s lips twitch at that. Her team is made of children. Even Blake, it seems. Prod the Faunus enough and she turns into a child too.<br/><br/>But then, they deserve to act like children occasionally.<br/><br/>Then she does sigh. “I would like it very much,” Weiss says gently, “if you could just stop thinking about what-ifs and what could be. The past is the past, Blake. What’s important is I live to see another day.”<br/><br/>Silence.<br/><br/>“That goes for when I was hurt at Haven Academy, as well.”<br/><br/>Blake tenses.<br/><br/>“Maybe you could have stopped it from happening, or maybe it would have still happened anyway,” Weiss says. “But it’s already done. There are… other things more important that we need to think about. Leave the past where it is, Blake.”<br/><br/>There’s a long moment before Blake finally responds.<br/><br/>“Was this the long, nice discussion you wanted to have with me?”<br/><br/>Weiss hums. “We can make it longer if you want to be stubborn.”<br/><br/>The Faunus is quiet at that.<br/><br/>Then.<br/><br/>“What if I do want to make it longer?”<br/><br/>Her eyebrow arches up. “Really?”<br/><br/>“Mmm,” Blake’s smiling a little now, enough that it makes Weiss suspicious. “I’d like to talk to you about something else.”<br/><br/>“Oh?” She looks at her teammate, half-curious and half-wary. “What is it?”<br/><br/>“When are you and Ruby going to stop dancing around each other?”<br/><br/>Weiss slides her gaze away from knowing amber eyes, cheeks warming. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”<br/><br/>It’s Blake’s turn to hum. “Something happened in the room while I was looking around the manor.”<br/><br/>Weiss resists the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. First Yang, now Blake. Do these two have some sort of radar on them?<br/><br/>She shakes her head instead. “Lots of things happened in the manor, Blake.”<br/><br/>Blake's ears twitch. “Did you two fight?”<br/><br/>Damn it. Blake is far too perceptive.<br/><br/>She grimaces. “Not really. I just confronted her about the way she’s been behaving.”<br/><br/>“Ah.” A pause. “Are you okay?”<br/><br/>That’s not the response Weiss is expecting. She'd expected anything along the lines of maybe an understanding comment, maybe an angry rebuke, or maybe a word about Ruby’s current condition. Or, maybe even an attempt to help them reconcile (not that they actually argued).<br/><br/>Instead, Blake is asking if <em>Weiss is okay.<br/><br/></em>“That isn’t…” Weiss trails off, suddenly at a loss of how to proceed. “I’m fine. I keep telling all of you, I’ve already recovered.”<br/><br/>Blake is tapping her hardcover book on the ledge gently. “That’s not what I was referring to.”<br/><br/>“Then what?” She looks back confusedly at her teammate who is regarding her quietly.<br/><br/>“Having to confront Ruby would’ve hurt you, Weiss.”<br/><br/>She stills. Blake though, Blake's gaze is far too soft and sad that it makes her heart ache.<br/><br/>“Having to hurt Ruby,” her teammate repeats, “would really hurt you.”<br/><br/><em>Of course it did</em>, she doesn’t say. It’s literally like heartbreak, and Winter had broken her heart just days before Ruby forced her hand.<br/><br/>It’s Weiss who looks away, training her gaze on the bookshelf.<br/><br/>“So let me ask you again, Weiss.” The book is placed gently on the windowsill. “Are you okay?”<br/><br/><em>No</em>. “I…” she sighs. “I will be okay.”<br/><br/>She needs <em>time</em>. The three weeks of coma doesn’t count, plus there haven't really been many opportunities since where she can just be alone and <em>think</em>.<br/><br/>It’s only recently that she’s really begun to… process things. It’s not just about Ruby either. There’s the part where she almost died, <em>again</em>. There’s also her sister. And then Whitley and her mother. Her father.<br/><br/>And the things that she now knows she needs to do because of <em>all of that</em>.<br/><br/>Blake is quiet at that.<br/><br/>And then she's moving to sit closer, until they are side by side, shoulders touching.<br/><br/>“Anytime you want me to hide you,” Blake says, “Even from our team, will you tell me?”<br/><br/>Something squeezes tightly in her, and there’s a hard lump forming in her throat. Weiss closes her eyes, focusing on the sensations around her.<br/><br/>The sun is a gentle warmth against her back, and Blake is a solid presence by her side.<br/><br/>It’s a very, very long moment before she responds.<br/><br/>“Yes.” The faintest of a whisper. “I will.”<br/><br/>Blake makes a satisfied sound. “I’m hiding you today.”<br/><br/>A trembling chuckle escapes her then.<br/><br/>It’s a little bit strangled with heartache. A little bit raw with relief.<br/><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/><br/><em>16.<br/><br/></em>“Weisssssss….” That is the only warning she gets.<br/><br/>Ruby bodily drapes herself over Weiss’s back, letting her hands hang past her neck.<br/><br/>The white-haired woman yelps and staggers at the sudden weight on her back. “Wh-what are you - Ruby! That’s dangerous, you dolt!”<br/><br/>“Where are you sneaking out to?” Her partner continues to hang onto her; Weiss is forced to grip the fence to support both their weight. It’s not as if Ruby is leaning her <em>entire</em> weight, especially when both her stupidly taller feet are definitely planted on the ground, but the little monster is clearly trying to be a nuisance.<br/><br/>“Sneaking - “ Weiss glances over her shoulder to glare at the parasite latching onto her, indignant. “I am not sneaking. I am <em>walking</em> out of the academy. What are <em>you</em> doing?”<br/><br/>“I want my Weiss time.”<br/><br/>“Your - “ she falters at the unexpected words. “<em>What</em>?”<br/><br/>“Where are you going?” Ruby asks again, warm silver eyes close to her own and regarding her curiously. Against her back, her partner’s body feels warm and solid.<br/><br/>“I - “ she hesitates. Is Ruby trying to distract her? Is that a deliberate change of topic? Still, she doesn’t really have a reason to <em>not</em> answer the question. “...I thought I’d go to the manor for a little while.”<br/><br/>Her leader blinks. “Oh.” Ruby does slide off Weiss then, but she doesn’t step away. Instead, a hand now rests on her back, against the small of her spine.<br/><br/>Gunmetal eyes remain fixed on her silently for a long moment though.<br/><br/>She stares back. There’s something very odd going on here. She’s not entirely sure what yet, though she has her suspicions.<br/><br/>“Ruby?”<br/><br/>Said person smiles. “Can I come with you?”<br/><br/>She blinks. “You don’t have to…” Her words trail off at the puppy dog eyes Ruby gives her. “...You can come, if you really want.”<br/><br/>“Let’s go!” Ruby cheers, the hand on Weiss’s back now pushing them forward gently.<br/><br/>Weiss just sighs. “What are you even going to do there? I’m not planning to be there for very long, so there’s no need for you to waste time - “<br/><br/>“Being with you is never a waste of time, Weiss.” A pause. “Besides, didn’t I say we’d never leave your side for a second?”<br/><br/>Warmth trickles into her veins at that. It makes an invisible knot on her shoulders ease away.<br/><br/>“My father’s already been arrested,” she says anyway, as a counter to Ruby’s second point; but the latter only shrugs dismissively.<br/><br/>Still, Weiss thinks mutely, there’s no denying that his influence is still palpable in Atlas… her father may try to manipulate the upcoming trial. Though the possibilities <em>are</em> all but miniscule now that Winter had taken over the role of Acting General.<br/><br/>And Winter, she knows, will have no mercy for him.<br/><br/>She does need to talk to Whitley. And maybe her mother, if she can summon the courage for it.<br/><br/>“Weiss,” Ruby says, interrupting her thoughts.<br/><br/>“Yes?”<br/><br/>Ruby’s head tilts like a puppy. “You got a crinkle.”<br/><br/>...Okay, her partner is just being bizarre right now. “What in the world are you talking about?”<br/><br/>The girl peers closer, and then pokes her in between her brows. “Crinkle. You’re frowning, Weiss.”<br/><br/>She scowls, leaning away from that offending finger. “I was just thinking.”<br/><br/>“I know,” Ruby agrees. But she’s also pointing at the tram. “We should get in before it leaves though.”<br/><br/>She blinks again. When had the tram arrived? For that matter, when had they arrived at the stop?<br/><br/>Ruby nudges her again, maneuvering her up the vehicle to a free seat near the back. Then she’s made to sit while Ruby stands in front of her like a guardian.<br/><br/>Weiss leans back against the chair and deliberately crosses her arms, followed by her legs; she is the very picture of aristocracy. She pierces her partner with a look. “Are you my escort today? Is that what’s going on?”<br/><br/>A fifteen year old Ruby would’ve tried to dodge or distract her. This Ruby, however, knows better than to try.<br/><br/>The little monster grins sheepishly. “I guess you’ve figured it out?”<br/><br/>The exasperated groan that threatens to leave Weiss becomes a frustrated sigh instead. “None of you are being subtle. I <em>have</em> recovered, you know. I don’t need to be coddled.”<br/><br/>“Mhm.” A pause. “Did you take your medicine today?”<br/><br/>Weiss glowers. “I’m not a child. Of course I did.”<br/><br/>“Definitely not a child,” her leader repeats dutifully.<br/><br/>Weiss continues staring, long enough that Ruby begins to shuffle nervously like a child caught with a hand in a cookie jar.<br/><br/>She rolls her eyes then. “Dolt.”<br/><br/>Her teammates had taken turns to stay by her side ever since she’d been released from the hospital. There are times when she’s left alone, of course, but usually only in the dorms. It’s really unnecessary, honestly. The doctors had given her a clean bill of health, even if she will continue to take antibiotics for a little longer.<br/><br/>That doesn’t mean she has the heart to stop her team from being silly, though. Letting them do this is a way to ease their worries and fears, and if that helps, then, well.<br/><br/>It’s not even a choice that requires consideration.<br/><br/>Although…<br/><br/>She looks back at her partner. “Ruby?”<br/><br/>A hum. “Yes, Weiss?”<br/><br/>“This ridiculous rotation that you three plotted… have you all been calling it <em>Weiss time</em>?”<br/><br/>Ruby coughs, refusing to look at her. “...It wasn’t me. Yang coined the term first.” Just like that, her leader throws her sister under the bus.<br/><br/>She continues to stare, unimpressed.<br/><br/>Ruby wilts. “...Yes. Please stop giving me those judgy eyes.”<br/><br/>Her lips twitch.<br/><br/>And then, despite herself, Weiss laughs softly. “You are all idiots.”<br/><br/>Ruby does stare at her now, watching her carefully with a widening grin. It’s like she’s trying to… commit what Weiss looks like to memory.<br/><br/>And there’s also something intimately familiar about it, going long enough that Weiss actually feels heat creeping up her neck.<br/><br/>It’s Weiss who looks away first, this time.<br/><br/>They travel the rest of the distance in a comfortable silence.<br/><br/>.<br/><br/>They arrive at the manor.<br/><br/>She steps in one more time, Ruby hovering by her side.<br/><br/>Blue eyes scan the surroundings, taking stock of the damage that had occurred a few weeks ago during the siege, as well as the assortment of workers milling about doing repair work.<br/><br/>“Miss Schnee!” Klein’s cheerful voice greets them, “Welcome home. It does me good to see you well and healthy.”<br/><br/>Weiss smiles genuinely. “Klein. Thank you again for your help.” A pause. “Where is mother and Whitley?”<br/><br/>“Madame is in the gardens, and young Whitley is in Jacques’s office.”<br/><br/>She glances at Ruby who has yet to say a word. “Ruby,” she says, “I need to talk to my brother for… a little while.” She needs to do this alone.<br/><br/>Thankfully though, Ruby seems to understand. “Go on ahead,” she gestures. “I will, uh…”<br/><br/>“Would Miss Rose be interested in some hot chocolate?” Klein interrupts smoothly. “Perhaps I could bring you to the kitchen for a snack? Or I could bring you to Miss Schnee’s room if you may prefer to wait there?”<br/><br/>They look back at each other again, and then Ruby shrugs.<br/><br/>Weiss just waves with a hand. “Whichever you prefer. Have a walk around if you wish, Ruby. I’ll… I may require a bit of time.”<br/><br/>“We can meet up in your room after you’re done,” her partner offers, “I’m sure there’s plenty of time for me to do… whatever, and then be there anyway.”<br/><br/>She nods. “Very well. In that case, I’ll see you afterwards.”<br/><br/>And with that, she begins trekking her way up the stairs. Then, as she reaches the end of it -<br/><br/>“Weiss,” Ruby calls out from below, and she pauses, looking back.<br/><br/>Her partner’s eyes crinkle bright and warm at her. “I’ll come to you in a flash if you call,” Ruby sings, “Never leaving your sideeee!”<br/><br/>Weiss huffs, shaking her head. “Dolt,” she calls back, before resuming her walk into the hallway.<br/><br/>She does catch one bit of conversation before they fade away though - “Would you like to see Miss Schnee’s favourite haunt as a child, Miss Rose?” “Oh, please, just call me Ruby - “<br/><br/>.<br/><br/>Interestingly enough, the door to father’s office is open. In the past, it’s <em>always </em>been closed, and only ever open to invite someone in or for someone to come out.<br/><br/>Weiss peers inside, observing for a second.<br/><br/>And then she’s leaning against the doorway, simply just watching in silence.<br/><br/>Whitley is focused on work, diligently tapping away at the keyboard without pause. His brow furrows in thought, occasionally, but his blue eyes are steadfast on the monitor.<br/><br/>Something like warm affection beats in her blood.<br/><br/>She heard about it from a fully recovered Nora and even saw it with her own eyes — SDC is putting in a lot of effort to help rebuild Mantle, more than officially required. It’s something her father will never do. And there is only one person right now who could involve SDC so deeply in this.<br/><br/>She lifts a hand to knock against the door gently.<br/><br/>Her brother freezes, head whipping up to look at her in surprise.<br/><br/>“The door is open,” she says by way of greeting, a half smile on her face.<br/><br/>“Weiss,” her brother stands, still staring at her, almost as if he can’t quite believe she’s there. His stare is intent, his gaze straying down to her stomach before snapping up to meet her eyes.<br/><br/>Those jerky movements uncharacteristic of her usually smooth brother is enough to tell Weiss what’s actually going on though.<br/><br/>He's remembering that an ice chunk impaled her, all the way to the wall. He's remembering all the blood that she lost. Maybe he'd seen Yang try to melt away the ice to get her out.<br/><br/>He's remembering that his sister almost died in front of his eyes.<br/><br/>Whitley, her baby brother, is only fifteen.<br/><br/>Her heart aches at the thought. “Whitley,” Weiss says gently. “Can we talk?”<br/><br/>There’s a pause before he nods slowly.<br/><br/>Weiss steps in then, closing the door behind them.<br/><br/>.<br/><br/>A strange silence falls over them after they sit in their father’s room - not the couch, but the two chairs near each other.<br/><br/>Whitley looks everywhere but at her, and Weiss stares thoughtfully at the chess pieces on the table.<br/><br/>Weiss breaks the silence.<br/><br/>“There are two things we need to discuss.”<br/><br/>Her brother finally looks at her, face neutrally calm. “What are they?”<br/><br/>“Father, and your inheritance. Is there a topic you’d prefer for us to discuss first?”<br/><br/>Whitley exhales then, seemingly not surprised. “Father first then. It probably will be a short one.”<br/><br/>The corner of Weiss’s lip ticks up at the bland way her brother says that. He’s not wrong though.<br/><br/>“His trial is coming up soon,” Weiss says. “Though he most certainly will try to delay it, and possibly past the day I’ll be departing from Atlas with my comrades.”<br/><br/>Oscar - or Ozpin rather - has already called upon all of them on what to do next. The war with Salem, they all know, is not close to even being over. If anything, the situation has gotten even more dangerous. They need to press on.<br/><br/>“I’m aware.” A beat of silence. “You are leaving?” There’s an odd note in his neutral voice now that she can’t quite read.<br/><br/>Because Weiss doesn’t know how else to tell him, all she says is, “Yes.”<br/><br/>Whitley doesn’t respond.<br/><br/>There’s a long moment before she poses her own question. “Are you going to help father in his trial?”<br/><br/>Her brother looks away from her then, and at the table. His brows are furrowed. “I... will not. Having him back will do more harm than good.”<br/><br/>She nods. “Very well.” She smiles briefly. It may be a little sad. A little relieved. But it’s mostly resigned. “In that case - “<br/><br/>“What would you have done if I said yes?” Whitley interrupts then, still looking at the brown wood.<br/><br/>An even longer silence.<br/><br/>“Nothing.”<br/><br/>That seems to startle Whitley, and he stares at her. “Nothing?”<br/><br/>Despite herself, a crooked smile forms. “You don’t believe me?”<br/><br/>Blue eyes stare at her for a moment longer before her brother shakes his head. “I do. I just don’t know what your reason is.”<br/><br/><em>Because he’s our father</em>, she doesn’t tell him. <em>Because, despite the person that he is, I know you loved and admired him. Who am I to deny you for wanting to save him?<br/><br/></em>What Weiss actually says is this:<br/><br/>“The chances of him escaping his trial is incredibly small given everything that happened,” she says quietly. “Winter will never show him mercy. And even if he does somehow get out of it, Atlas government will not stand by and watch him take back the helm of SDC when the heating grid was abused under his access.”<br/><br/>“So you don’t believe it possible to get him out.”<br/><br/>“No. Out of jail, maybe. Back on SDC, absolutely not.”<br/><br/>Silence.<br/><br/>Then, “Is there anything else you’d like to discuss about our father?”<br/><br/>Whitley purses his lips. “No.”<br/><br/>“Let’s talk about your inheritance then.”<br/><br/>He seems to tense at that.<br/><br/>“Whitley,” she says quietly. “You are not of age yet. And by Atlas’s law, you need to be eighteen to succeed the company. With father gone, someone has to be at the helm.”<br/><br/>He stares at the table.<br/><br/>“Winter will never be able to come back regardless given her ties to our kingdom’s military.” A pause. “Do you know why?”<br/><br/>“Balance of power.” He exhales slowly, reciting words that are familiar to him. “Dust - the livelihood of the people - cannot be seen as dependent on any one military. The other kingdoms will never accept that, and it’s detrimental for our business. Atlas military may be an important business partner, but we can never be beholden to them.”<br/><br/><em>Except SDC is the one abusing the people</em>, Weiss thinks, something in her twisting at the thought.<br/><br/>“That is correct,” she says instead. “The moment Winter joined the military, she renounced any possibility of her coming back to the company.”<br/><br/>“Which leaves just mother, you, and I as the only qualified people.”<br/><br/>“Mother is…” she pauses. “She’s not in a state where she can take care of the company.”<br/><br/>“She isn’t,” he agrees.<br/><br/>Silence.<br/><br/>“The board has reached out to me,” Weiss says after a moment. “They want me to take over immediately given the urgency of the current situation.”<br/><br/>Whitley huffs. There’s something like resignation in the way his shoulder slumps. “And behind my back, it seems.”<br/><br/>Weiss does roll her eyes then, and unable to resist, she reaches out to ruffle his hair. “Don’t pout, brother. You know well enough that there are sharks everywhere, especially with our father in jail.”<br/><br/>His eyes snap up to her in surprise again.<br/><br/>Damn it. Where has her self-control gone? Stupid Yang and her infectious affection.<br/><br/>“Anyway,” she tries to bring the topic back on track, hastily retracting her hand. “The company. I’ll…” Weiss sigh softly. “I have already accepted the post. You do understand why, don’t you?”<br/><br/>Her brother looks impossibly young. “I’m not of age yet. It also means that any chance of father coming back is completely gone - because you’ll never give it back to him.”<br/><br/>“Whitley.” There’s a moment before she speaks again. “You’re my heir now. And though I have to be at its helm, this company is yours to take care of.”<br/><br/>He frowns, unsure of what she’s trying to hint at. “That’s a contradictory statement.” And because he can’t quite help himself, “You’d trust me with the company…?”<br/><br/>“You are not our father,” Weiss says, sharper than she intends. “And if he somehow gets out and tries to mold you into his image again, I will kill him.”<br/><br/>He flinches at how harshly she speaks, and looks at her like he can’t quite believe what she just proclaimed.<br/><br/>Oh, but she does mean it. She means<em> every word</em>.<br/><br/>Despite how much softer she is nowadays, there is a part of her that will always be calculatingly cold and mercilessly decisive. She <em>was</em> the heiress and was trained to lead ruthlessly, after all.<br/><br/>She’d just have to deal with the emotional fallout when she has to.<br/><br/>Weiss exhales, ignoring the way her blood runs cold at the thought of killing their father. “You’re… you’re growing to be a good man. And you are already proving that, every day.” A pause. “Even if your attitude could still use some work. So, yes. I trust you, Whitley. You will do the right thing.”<br/><br/>He swallows.<br/><br/>There’s another beat of silence before she speaks again.<br/><br/>“I’m having our lawyers draft my will,” Weiss says. “Winter and Klein both will have copies, so keep that in mind if you ever need their help.”<br/><br/>He stares at her, mouth now hanging half open. “Your — <em>what</em>?”<br/><br/>Her lips twitch. Reaching over, she lifts a finger to close his mouth, tapping lightly at the underside of his chin in a gentle rebuke.<br/><br/>“The will is… a failsafe.”<br/><br/>“A <em>failsafe</em>?” His brows furrow sharply, and she can almost hear his thoughts whirring loudly in his head. The way he’s gripping at the armrest of the chair tightly tells Weiss he knows exactly what she’s trying to say.<br/><br/>“It’s the only way I can protect you if I pass away.” Her words are soft. “If I die before you are of age.”<br/><br/>He flinches. “Don’t say that!” He sounds so small and haunted now, all poise and neutrality gone from his features, as if he’s reliving the moment she almost died. “Don’t… don’t say that.”<br/><br/>Weiss moves to kneel in front of her brother. She grasps at his hands, and watches the way his gaze trembles. “I have to leave Atlas soon, Whitley. And I can’t… I can’t promise that I’ll be able to come back.”<br/><br/>“I’ll never forgive you if you don’t come back.” Her brother sounds hollow, so hollow that she feels her heart ache.<br/><br/>“I know.” Her words are soft. She squeezes his hands gently. “There are a lot of things I have to ask your forgiveness for.” <em>I left you alone</em>.<em> I’m leaving you alone again.<br/><br/></em>Whitley’s eyes are finally misting over. Her baby brother. Only fifteen years old. And here Weiss is, handing over the weight of the world to be placed on his shoulders.<br/><br/>“I…” Weiss exhales slowly. “I don’t know how long I’ve to be away. I don’t know when this fight with Salem will end. But I have to go because something like what happened to Atlas and Mantle may happen again. It may even be far worse. So I… I have to go.”<br/><br/>“I understand,” Whitley says quietly. “But I still won’t forgive you if you don’t come back.”<br/><br/>She does smile at that. “I can promise I’ll try my best to come back,” she offers. “In fact, I swear it. I swear it on my name and my sword, Whitley.”<br/><br/>He wipes at his nose angrily. “...You’re just trying to appease me.” His voice sounds thick, like he’s trying to not cry.<br/><br/>Weiss sighs. “I mean every word and you know it. And I will be in touch. Frequently. Barring any issues, it won’t be long before the communication tower is back up, after all.”<br/><br/>A long, long silence.<br/><br/>Then, finally:<br/><br/>“...Why are you doing so much for me?”<br/><br/>“That’s the silliest question you had since I came in here.” She chuffs at the underside of his chin again, this time teasingly.<br/><br/>He scowls in response, rubbing at the spot she'd touched. “What?”<br/><br/>Her smile goes crooked again. “Whitley Schnee. You’re my little brother. What other reason do I need?”<br/><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/><br/><em>17.<br/><br/></em>Weiss is exhausted now.<br/><br/>She steps into her bedroom at the manor without preamble and leans against the cold door behind her when she closes it, eyes shutting close.<br/><br/>Away from any prying eyes, the sigh that leaves her frame is long, slow and heavy.<br/><br/>“Weiss?”<br/><br/>Her gaze snaps up to meet concerned silver eyes.<br/><br/>Ruby’s sitting cross-legged near the lit fireplace, watching her — but then she’s standing, making her way to where Weiss is leaning against the door; the fire painting her face and clothes in shades of yellow and orange.<br/><br/>It’s dark outside, she finally notices, even though it’s only mid-afternoon. The sky is rumbling with thunder and heavy rain.<br/><br/>“What’s wrong?” Her partner’s question is gentle, and though she is now just right in front of the ex-heiress-turned-president, Ruby does not touch her.<br/><br/><em>I just told Whitley I would kill father if he tries to hurt him, and I meant every word.<br/><br/></em>She stares into eyes that are warm and worried.<br/><br/><em>I’m also drafting my will for the event where I die</em>, she almost says. <em>I got lucky twice; I may not the third time.<br/><br/></em>Ruby chews at her bottom lip. “Do I need to punch your brother? Did he hurt you?”<br/><br/>“...You are terrible at hand-to-hand combat.”<br/><br/>She huffs. “Doesn’t mean I can’t punch a little pipsqueak.”<br/><br/>“He’s about your height.”<br/><br/>“I’m stronger than him anyway. Also, I’m <em>older</em>.” Ruby mimes a boxing stance with her two fists, and punches the air lightly. “Hyah!”<br/><br/>That argument makes no sense at all.<br/><br/>Weiss just sighs. “Please don’t punch him. I’ll be very cross with you if you do.”<br/><br/>“Oh.” Ruby deflates, fists dropping down. “Maybe I can punch your father? Draw something on his face maybe? He’s in jail now, but I’m sure I can sneak my way in...”<br/><br/>She huffs. It’s almost a chuckle. “No. Thank you, but no.” As hilarious as the idea of drawing on his face may be, the last thing she needs is Ruby getting in trouble.<br/><br/>Her partner stares at her again, humor fading, brows furrowing, looking as if she’d give the world to Weiss if she asks for it.<br/><br/>“Just…” Weiss trails off. Then she sighs, long and slow. “Just stand here.”<br/><br/>And then she drops her head to rest on Ruby’s shoulder, blue eyes closing; the first moment of weakness she allows herself since arriving at the manor.<br/><br/>There’s a familiar and comforting scent coming from her partner, enough that it makes her shoulders loosen.<br/><br/>Ruby seems to twitch then, like she’s trying to resist doing something, body vibrating with a certain energy that is uniquely her.<br/><br/>“What?”<br/><br/>“I’m not moving!” her partner protests instantly. “...But I’d like to hug you. Can I hug you?”<br/><br/>Weiss stifles a groan. “Whatever.” If it gets her to stop being restless, <em>fine</em>.<br/><br/>Without another word, Ruby’s arms curls around her, and her cheek nudges gently against her temple before settling. A sigh leaves her partner then, though there’s something infinitely more content about it.<br/><br/>Like something is right in the world again.<br/><br/>It’s odd, because she’s really only half-leaning against Ruby, her back is still against the door, but those warm arms are curled around her shoulders and the back of her neck.<br/><br/>She wants to sink deeper into Ruby’s embrace.<br/><br/>Then.<br/><br/>“Hey, Weiss?”<br/><br/>All she does is make a noise of acknowledgment.<br/><br/>“I saw your mom earlier.”<br/><br/>“...Ah.”<br/><br/>“She wasn’t drinking,” Ruby says, so casually like it means nothing. “She doesn’t even reek of it like Uncle Qrow used to. Your mom actually looked like she’s thinking really hard, and you know what she told me when we chatted a bit?”<br/><br/>Weiss sighs. “I wouldn’t know.” Her mother had probably said something cynical again.<br/><br/>“She told me she’s going to try really hard to be okay.” Her partner’s voice is warm. “She said, and I quote, ‘<em>I’ll do better. I need to do better. And then, maybe… maybe I can ask for forgiveness.</em>’”<br/><br/>It’s like an ethereal fist had grasped at her heart, hearing that.<br/><br/>“You’re lying,” she whispers, because how is that even <em>possible</em>? For so many years, when Winter had tried, when she had tried, and even when Whitley had tried, it all amounted to nothing.<br/><br/>“I’m not. I’ll…” the grip on her tightens. “I’ll never lie to you ever again, Weiss. I swear. Never again.”<br/><br/>Something twists in her at that admission.<br/><br/>“I think your mom may get a bit miffed that I told you what she told me,” Ruby admits then. “Even though she didn’t actually say I can’t tell you.”<br/><br/>“...She really said that to you?”<br/><br/>“Yes, well…” A pause. “I may have given her a bit of, uh, a... pep talk, I guess?”<br/><br/>She can’t help it, a bark of laughter escapes her at that. “A <em>pep talk</em>?”<br/><br/>“Mhmm,” Ruby agrees. “Pep talk, Ruby Rose’s style.”<br/><br/>That’s really… her shoulders sag further. It shouldn’t make sense when her partner puts it that way. But it does, and that exasperates and exhausts Weiss to no end.<br/><br/>She supposes that she really has no choice but to believe that now.<br/><br/>And then it’s silent again.<br/><br/>At least until Ruby snaps her head to a side, away from Weiss, and <em>sneezes</em>.<br/><br/>Weiss is so surprised that laughter bubbles up from her throat before she shakes her head. “Dolt.”<br/><br/>She disengages herself from the hug then, but keeps ahold of Ruby’s wrist, tugging her towards the fireplace. “You should’ve told me you were cold.”<br/><br/>“I wasn’t!”<br/><br/>“You sure about that?”<br/><br/>“ ...Until a minute ago, I wasn’t.”<br/><br/>Weiss snorts, and then she gestures at the carpet where Ruby was sitting prior to her returning. “Sit,” she orders, one hand reaching for the blanket on the chair.<br/><br/>Ruby sits obediently, and then the blanket is draped around her shoulders, on <em>top </em>of the <em>cloak </em>the younger girl already has.<br/><br/>“You're not cold at all?” There’s almost a pout in her partner’s voice.<br/><br/>“Ruby,” she sighs, amused, before moving to sit down by her side. “I grew up with this weather.”<br/><br/>“Patch is never this cold.” There’s a plaintive whine in Ruby’s voice now.<br/><br/>Weiss just rolls her eyes. “We'll probably be here for a while. I’d rather not try to go back while the weather is this bad.“ And the sky, as if proving her point, gives another thundering rumble.<br/><br/>It’s raining even heavier now, and they can hear the howl of the wind mingling with the crackle of the fireplace. It will take a while for the rain to subside.<br/><br/>“...Maybe we could nap for a bit?” Ruby suggests.<br/><br/>Weiss makes a non-committal sound. “You can nap if you want.”<br/><br/>Ruby tilts her head to her. “You won’t nap with me?”<br/><br/>“I’m…” Weiss sighs then. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”<br/><br/>Ruby smiles. “Then I’ll sit with you.”<br/><br/>Despite herself, a trickle of warm affection beats in her veins.<br/><br/>But she does shake her head. “You should nap if you want to, Ruby. Do you <em>want</em> to nap?”<br/><br/>“I kinda do,” Ruby admits after a moment. “It’s nice and toasty here. And your carpet is so fluffy.”<br/><br/>“Then nap. We won’t be going anywhere for awhile.”<br/><br/>Fire-flecked eyes stare intently at her. She blinks, suddenly wary.<br/><br/>Ruby <em>grins</em>. “Okay!”<br/><br/>Blue eyes narrow. “What are you - hey!”<br/><br/>Her partner <em>swirls</em> around the room, leaving petals in her wake.<br/><br/>The couch is closer to the fireplace all of a sudden. Pillows are picked up from the bed and chairs only to be dropped in front of the couch, and then <em>Weiss</em> is grabbed too.<br/><br/>Weiss barely has a moment to blink before she finds herself leaning back against the couch while seated on the floor, a pillow squished between her and the furniture, an assortment of pillows lying around them, <em>and</em> Ruby resting her head on Weiss’s <em>lap</em>.<br/><br/>All in all, it’s suddenly very cozy near the fireplace.<br/><br/>Weiss stares down at the grinning little monster with an unimpressed look.<br/><br/>“Really?” she asks, exasperated.<br/><br/>“I can nap and also sit with you this way,” Ruby says very reasonably, blanket tucked to the chin. “And if you want to nap too, we don’t even have to really move anywhere now.”<br/><br/>Weiss groans. “Just…” She doesn’t even know what to say. A long-suffering sigh. “Go to sleep, you big child.”<br/><br/>“Okaaaay.” Ruby closes her eyes obediently, letting her head loll in the direction of the fireplace.<br/><br/>For a while, only the sound of the crackling fire and the rumbling rain outside fills the air. It is, for lack of a better word, peaceful. And Weiss finds that the multiple invisible knots on her shoulders are finally untangling, loosening enough to breathe easily.<br/><br/>But then.<br/><br/>“...Hey, Weiss?”<br/><br/>She <em>sighs</em>. “What is it now?”<br/><br/>“I miss you.”<br/><br/>Her brows furrow, and she looks down at her partner. “What do you mean? I’m literally right here.”<br/><br/>“I’m sorry we haven’t talked in a while,” Ruby says quietly, eyes still closed.<br/><br/>Oh.<br/><br/>It’s about that.<br/><br/>“I was…” her partner pauses, and then starts again. “I was going to talk to you, after I woke up. I really was. But then things got suuuper crazy, you know?”<br/><br/>Ruby sighs. They are both going to sigh a lot today, apparently.<br/><br/>And then her eyes are opening, though they don’t turn to look at Weiss, instead staring unseeingly at the crackling fire.<br/><br/>“First there was Penny dropping in on us, then Grimm was attacking, then we got your family and Nora to evacuate, then explosions was everywhere, then we got separated, then I found out Yang they all were in the whale, then when I found them they were all fighting so I joined in, and at first I was fighting Tyrion, but then Arthur suddenly appeared with your family and —”<br/><br/>“Ruby,” she feels a headache coming at the endless blabber. “Please just call it chaos.”<br/><br/>“There was so much chaos,” Ruby repeats dutifully. “And then Blake saved me and Jaune from Emerald’s illusion, and… and sometime during that, you got hurt.”<br/><br/>Silence.<br/><br/>“You almost died.“ An ashen murmur. “Again.”<br/><br/>“I’m alive,” she returns softly, watching shades of yellow and orange from the fire sketch her partner’s face. She lifts a hand to ease through soft black hair, the other curling around Ruby’s waist like a gentle, reassuring reminder of her presence.<br/><br/>“And then,” Ruby continues, quieter and quieter, “you were in a coma for three weeks.”<br/><br/>Silence.<br/><br/>“I almost hurt Penny.”<br/><br/>Weiss goes still. No one told her about that.<br/><br/>“I thought - “ her partner cuts herself off. “I was so angry I could’ve killed her. If Yang and Blake weren't holding me back while your sister took her away, I don’t… I don’t know what I would have done. Penny is my <em>friend</em>. It wasn’t even her fault. And I almost… hurt her.”<br/><br/>More silence.<br/><br/>“I’m scared, Weiss.”<br/><br/>Her heart aches to hear how small and young Ruby sounds.<br/><br/>“I think…” Ruby trails off, and goes completely silent.<br/><br/>It’s quiet long enough that she finds herself gently prodding. “You think?”<br/><br/>“I think if I lost you,” her partner whispers, “I would really go mad. I have been… angry for a while now. I still am. And, and… if you aren’t there anymore...”<br/><br/>For the second time today, something like an ethereal fist is clenching around her heart, making it so incredibly difficult to breathe. And suddenly, what Yang said before about Ruby is making sense.<br/><br/>Such an idiot.<br/><br/>Idiot, idiot, idiot.<br/><br/>“Ruby,” Weiss says softly, easing a hand through black curls again. “I’m not going anywhere. I promised you, didn’t I?”<br/><br/>Ruby remains quiet.<br/><br/>Then.<br/><br/>“Hey, Weiss?”<br/><br/>”Yes?”<br/><br/>Ruby shifts, finally turning to face her.<br/><br/>Their eyes meet, hold.<br/><br/>“You never did answer my question.”<br/><br/>Her head tilts. “What question?”<br/><br/>“From that day.”<br/><br/>“That day?”<br/><br/>A hand lifts from under the blanket. And then fingers are brushing gently against Weiss’s cheek, past white hair, pausing just before the thin scar crossing the blue eye.<br/><br/>“Can I kiss you?”<br/><br/>Weiss does blink then, surprised once more.<br/><br/>Unlike last time, Ruby is smiling up at her. It’s not the familiar big smile that stretches her face. It’s one that Weiss hasn’t seen before — a small, small, quiet smile; like there’s a secret she hasn’t shared yet but will soon, like she knows she’s been underestimated and isn’t afraid to use it to her advantage now.<br/><br/>The crackling fire paints Ruby’s face a soft, warm orange.<br/><br/>And this time, Weiss is completely willing.<br/><br/>“Yes. You can.”<br/><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/><br/><em>18.<br/><br/></em>What Weiss hasn’t said to Ruby is this.<br/><br/>She wants to tell her she’s sorry for that day in the Schnee manor, when she'd made her partner cry; for having to hurt her like that. Wanting to hurt someone on purpose, and with a way that methodically breaks apart a person’s defense — these are things she’d learned to do from young. It is a life she’s grown into as the once heiress of the SDC.<br/><br/>She'd been educated to see the world in black and white - but things have changed since, of course - how could it not? Her time with her team had been the happiest and brightest moments of her life; even despite all the trouble they'd landed into, or all the hijinks she’d been forced to tolerate.<br/><br/>This is why she’s sorry for having to do that to Ruby — to utilise one of the cruelest things she’s learnt to wield against political opponents on her partner.<br/><br/>But she also doesn’t regret it because she refuses to watch her leader sink deeper and deeper. The opportunity came, and she took it.<br/><br/>The love and affection she has for Ruby is genuine. As are the affection she has for Yang and Blake.<br/><br/>Her edge has been blunted by all three of them. It’s as if the jagged ice wall she keeps around herself has been slowly scraped away bit by bit until warmth and the sunlight can finally shine in.<br/><br/>It changes the priorities that she has. The beliefs and principles she once held onto like a gospel.<br/><br/>Now, instead of one family, she has two, and they are both so, so dear to her. And maybe one of them is still half-estranged with pieces that can never be recovered, but she knows that she will never be able to give up on them.<br/><br/>Now, when Weiss Schnee loves, she <em>loves </em>— with all her heart, and with everything she has.<br/><br/>Now, she wants to protect all of them.<br/><br/>Their hopes, their smiles, their dreams.<br/><br/>She wants to be strong enough for that.<br/><br/>And so she will.<br/><br/>She swears it.<br/><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/><br/><em>Finale.<br/><br/></em>At long last, it’s time to continue their journey.<br/><br/>This time, in search of the relic of destruction.<br/><br/>“I’ll be honest,” Jaune says, staring at the state-of-art technology all around him in amazement. “Of all the ways to get to Vacuo, I didn’t think it would be on a big, fancy airship.”<br/><br/>“When I asked Whitley to prepare a ship, supplies, and maybe a support crew, I didn’t think he’d pick this one,” Weiss says with a sigh, walking beside him as they both explore the ship. “But… I’ll admit that it’s nice to travel in peace and comfort for once.”<br/><br/>Somewhere further back, there is yelling.<br/><br/>“Ren! There’s so much Dust stored here! And we actually have a hangar! And ROBOTS! Can we play with the robots? Oh, is it with that control panel? And — <em>ooh</em>. What’s that?”<br/><br/>“Nora, not the - “<br/><br/><em>KABOOM.<br/><br/></em>And the so-called peace is <em>ruined</em>.<br/><br/>They both cringe, and Weiss pinches the bridge of her nose. “Jaune, if this ship explodes and we die by crashing - “<br/><br/>“Uh,” Jaune is already scrambling to the back. “I’ll go see what’s going on, and, um, make sure we live to see tomorrow!”<br/><br/>Weiss huffs, rolling her eyes.<br/><br/>She continues her trek further down the hallway, and towards a door to the left that slides open as she approaches.<br/><br/>The first thing she notices is Blake standing by the door with ears flicking and a small smile on her face.<br/><br/>And the second…<br/><br/>“Gimme your arm,” Ruby is making grabby motions at her big sister at the back of the room. “It’s time for maintenance, Yang.”<br/><br/>“Sis,” Yang says warily, “That’s not your maintenance look. That’s your '<em>ooh, I’m gonna see what cool stuff I can add to this!'</em> look.”<br/><br/>Ruby is vibrating with energy and excitement. “But Yang! Look at all these!” She waves at her surroundings, filled with all sorts of mechanisms and equipment that Weiss cannot begin to name. “This workshop has everything, and Weiss even made sure we will be able to take care of your arm here with all these cool techie!”<br/><br/>“How about you take care of your Crescent Rose first, huh?!” Yang is pointing accusingly at the folded scythe. “Go modify that first!”<br/><br/>“Yang, my sweetheart’s already been upgraded. It’s your turn!”<br/><br/>“You little — you just want to play with these equipment!”<br/><br/>Amused now, Weiss leans back against the doorway with crossed arms, watching the two bickering sisters.<br/><br/>“We haven’t seen this in a while, have we?” Blake asks her softly.<br/><br/>“Not for a while, no,” Weiss murmurs. “It’s nice though.”<br/><br/>Oh. Yang’s got Ruby in a headlock now; the latter is ineffectively, furiously pounding at the mechanical arm.<br/><br/>“I want this to continue forever,” the Faunus says quietly, longingly.<br/><br/>Weiss nudges Blake in the shoulder lightly. “We can make sure of it.”<br/><br/>Blake exhales then, and for the briefest moment, Weiss can see the shadow of fear and doubt warring with desperate hope in those golden eyes.<br/><br/>But then it fades, and the Faunus straightens.<br/><br/>Her teammate nods then. “Yes. We… we will make sure of it.”<br/><br/>“Together,” she says softly.<br/><br/>“Together,” Blake agrees.<br/><br/>Onwards into the unknown, when lament becomes carol.<br/><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/><br/><em>end.<br/><br/></em>.<br/><br/></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I actually wrote a Weiss that’s not unstable unlike in a certain other fic. Can you believe it? </p><p>...Also, it bears repeating that I specifically tagged this as slow burn for a reason. <i>Cough.</i> I do have a little future scene that’s <i>very</i> Weiss/Ruby already written, but I couldn’t fit it in here… I may try to do something with that eventually, either as a side story or sequel. *shifty eyes*</p><p>Anyway. Weiss is… there are certain things I’d never narrate her as pre-Beacon Fall, but a lot of things have changed since, clearly. She’s not the only one too - all of them have changed, and so did their dynamics. They are more than just kids trying to save the world, they are young adults trying to deal with trauma while trying to save the world.</p><p>The conflict between Yang and Ruby was also rather interesting to me… and also the hardest to describe. It actually took me a few days to rationalize what was causing it, and <i>then</i> a few more to try to put it into words without being wordy. Did I fail? Did I confuse people? Who knows…</p><p>That said, these are just my opinions of course. I could be completely wrong.</p><p>I also had to think really long and hard about whether I should change certain things in part 2 after watching S8E10 because the impact would be <i>delicious</i>… but ultimately I decided not to. My theories weren't far off, so that was interesting. Though, if this episode came out before I published the fic, I probably would’ve tried to align it more closely.</p><p>Regardless - I hope I succeeded in all the goals I’ve been aiming to achieve. Granted, I didn’t intend for this to spiral to 22k words, but it did, so my goals became more complicated too. And to think, I just wanted to poke at the fact that the spear was literally made of Cinder’s fire… I was naive. Sigh.</p><p>But <i>anyway</i>. I clearly have far too many buzzing thoughts and no outlet, so I’m going to stop here before this turns into an essay because I can probably write multiple paragraphs about each character in this fic.</p><p>A big thank you to Osiria and Emagios for catching me off guard with <a href="https://osiria-arts.tumblr.com/post/643691297925890048/iriesiss-fic-be-makin-me-feel">surprise number 1</a> and <a href="https://emagios.tumblr.com/post/643737492078608384/its-a-parody-of-a-reunion">surprise number 2</a>. Wonderful art pieces, and very, very flattering. Thank you.</p><p>And finally…  </p><p>Thank you again, to birdhymns for being a wonderful beta, and to you, for reading this to the end. And if interested, here's my <a href="https://iriesis.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a>. </p><p>Ta!</p>
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